


The Birth of Iconia

by compbrain1720



Series: The Iconia Continium [1]
Category: Eureka, Star Trek, Stargate SG-1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-27
Updated: 2014-05-26
Packaged: 2018-01-26 17:06:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 100,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1695869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/compbrain1720/pseuds/compbrain1720
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Also contains elements of Star Trek. Stargate Command turns to Global Dynamics for help developing technology to battle the Ori. What do the Q have to do with this? Part One of the Iconian Quadrilogy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter1

**Author's Note:**

> Author's note:
> 
> The following story is a collaboration between wesleyehowell and compbrain1720.
> 
> It will be a three arc story, possibly four. The first part is "The Birth of Iconia"
> 
> Due to the Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey nature of this story, things can and will seem hard to follow and sometimes even downright contradictory. This is perfectly normal. If you read through to the end, however, things will become clear.
> 
> This is an alternate reality as there are several changes to canon in both stories.
> 
> In this story Jack and Samantha Carter are siblings.
> 
> The Eureka timeline as seen in the show starts in 2004.
> 
> Things different in this universe are:
> 
> Janet Fraser did not die (this will be explained later)
> 
> Aiden Ford was not fed on (for the same reason as Janet Fraser surviving)
> 
> Prometheus was not destroyed due to GD upgrades to its equipment
> 
> General Hammond did not die (GD's medical science prevents this)
> 
> During the battle over Asura, lots of equipment was harvested by beaming, rather than let it be destroyed.
> 
> The fatal error in the Asgard cloning technique never arose.
> 
> These events happen instead of "The Ark of Truth"
> 
> This story is also posted on FF.net

Chapter 1

"Ally? Where are my jogging shorts?" Jack Carter was throwing things this way and that, searching the freshly washed laundry for his elusive jogging shorts.

"In the laundry…. basket," his wife, Allison, finished weakly as she walked into the room. "Do you have to sack and pillage while you're searching?" she asked, picking up a pair of pants that had been thrown carelessly onto the bed.

Jack was frantically searching, still. "I just need to get going, if I'm gonna get my exercise in this morning," he said as he flung some of her unmentionables aside.

Allison saw a glint of the fabric he was looking for, and grabbed it before it was re-buried. She held it up. "Jack."

"I need to clear my head, so I'm fresh before I get there, you know?

"Jack." A bit louder this time.

"This is kinda going to be a blending of two parts of my life, and I'd like to show up with a clear head. I wish you could go jogging with me, though." He stopped and looked at his wife, who was still holding up the prize. "Is there another basket some…" He finally saw what she had in her hand. "You found them."

"Yes, Jack. That's what I've been trying to tell you." She handed them to him. "You're right. You do need to clear your head."

He reached for the shorts, but she held them behind her back until he kissed her. "I wish I could go jogging with you too."

"After the baby," he said, grinning.

She nodded, and smiled back. "After the baby."

Jack had been jogging for about twenty minutes, trying to clear his head. Recently, he had been on edge, feeling that if he looked quickly enough, in a certain direction, that he would see someone standing there, watching. He knew that this was ridiculous, but he just couldn't shake the feeling.

He finally realized that he wasn't going to be able to clear his head until got himself thinking about something else. To that end, he started thinking about the people he was going to be meeting with and how they had changed his life.

One of them was his sister, Samantha. They were twins, although she was 3 hours older than he was. She had been a stabilizing influence in his life and she was also a genius. She was every bit as smart as anybody that he worked with in Eureka.

Next was Jack O'Neill, a very good friend. O'Neill had recruited Jack to work for the SGC several years before at the behest of Sam. Sam and Jack's father had been very close to death at the time. However, Jacob, their father, had become a Tok'Ra and the merging with the symbiont had saved his life. Sam had gone to O'Neill, and pointed out that Jack was a US Marshal. As such he would be invaluable to the SGC. Jack had a way with people. He even had a tendency to play himself as being considerably less intelligent than he actually was. As a US Marshal, he could be a liaison to the American public for anything having to do with the Stargate.

Jack had been given security clearance higher than anything he'd ever imagined. He had even gone through the Stargate on more than one occasion. Jack received regular security updates from the SGC. He read them, and although Nathan Stark would never have believed it, he even understood most of the words. He had proved himself useful to the SGC on numerous occasions, and in fact, anything having to do with technology garnered through the Stargate that would affect the American Public at large had to be cleared through Jack Carter. What cemented his relationship with the SGC, however, was when he discovered what Eva Thorne was actually doing.

Jack knew about Tretonin and he knew how invaluable someone like Eva Thorne, who aged extremely slowly, would be to Stargate Command. But his morals would not allow him to simply turn her over to them. Instead, he spoke to her about it without giving away any classified details, and convinced her that it would be in her best interest to meet with them.

General Mansfield, the idiot in charge of Eureka at the time, was furious with Jack, because he wanted to arrest Eva Thorne for making him look like a fool. He tried to remove Jack from his position as Sheriff of Eureka, and in fact, Jack went along with him, knowing full well that O'Neill could countermand Mansfield's orders at any time, and probably would. O'Neill was about to do just that, until Henry Deacon, newly elected mayor of Eureka, discovered a loophole allowing Jack to keep his job. It was infinitely preferable that things be done this way rather than Mansfield, and more importantly, the people of Eureka finding out that the General had no jurisdiction over Jack. In reality, Jack answered to only two people: O'Neill, and the President of the United States. Consequently, if the SGC wanted to have Jack in Eureka, Jack was in Eureka. It really made little difference what Mansfield, or even Henry Deacon, wanted.

The difference between the two generals was striking. Mansfield would look at a battlefield and see acceptable losses, targets, and assets. O'Neill would look at the battlefield and see people. Mansfield commanded soldiers while O'Neill led people. Jack understood this. In fact, it had infuriated him when recently a loss of sixteen people had been equated to a B plus. He could just imagine O'Neill's reaction to that.

Another of Jack's friends in the SGC, was Teal'c. Teal'c was a Jaffa. He was human, but not born on Earth. Sometimes, his behavior would baffle Jack. But behind everything Teal'c did, Jack saw a fierce loyalty and devotion that was unwavering. He knew that Teal'c was just as good a warrior, and just as formidable an opponent, as his friend, Jo Lupo.

Then there was Daniel Jackson. Daniel was just as much of an egghead as anybody in Eureka. But his field of interest was archaeology and ancient languages. Daniel was a civilian, but in effect, special forces trained. In his own way he was just as much of a warrior Teal'c.

Jack turned towards home, and his thoughts turned back to Eureka. Now that Eureka was private, things could change. In fact, it was inevitable that they do, but Jack had a suspicion that things would be changing for the better.

At Global Dynamics, Jack and Allison Carter walked into the conference room. Henry Deacon was already there with his wife Grace, and across the table from him was Douglas Fargo. They all appeared to be somewhat apprehensive. Today they would be learning what direction Global Dynamics would be taking in the future. The town of Eureka had recently been purchased by Trevor Grant or, as he liked to call himself now, Trent Rockwell. But the simple fact of the matter was, there was no operating capital. Global dynamics needed a serious infusion of funds, without them it would be as closed as it would have been had it not been bought.

All four of them greeted each other, with attention being given to the fact that Douglas Fargo had been gone for several weeks. They sat down at the table just in time to stand up again as Jack O'Neill, Samantha Carter, Teal'c, and Daniel Jackson, entered the room.

O'Neill shook hands all around, then sat down and stared off into the corner of the room. He really liked all these people and he wanted things to work out to everyone's benefit. But, O'Neill only knew one of the new owners of Global. He knew what the owners had in mind, but it could be very hard getting things done with the new system that was going into place. One of the owners was O'Neill's best friend, Daniel Jackson. Daniel had inherited all of Catherine Langford's considerable wealth when she passed away, and he had used that to help Dr. Trent Rockwell purchase Eureka and Global Dynamics. Two other people had also used their personal funds in purchasing the town and facilities. They were Alec Colson, with whom O'Neill's previous dealings had all been less than positive, and Eva Thorne, with whom he had had limited dealings during her time as what was essentially an SGC lab rat.

O'Neill understood that Rockwell had 51% interest, followed by Colson with 19%, then Jackson and Thorne each having 15% ownership. However, O'Neill also knew that Jackson, Thorne, and Colson had all agreed to provide capital on the condition that an oversight committee be established to approve any and all weapon's research that might be done at Global. Rockwell had agreed, and this is what concerned O'Neill. With such a committee, it might be complicated getting the things needed for Earth's defense. And the defense of Earth was what O'Neill was concerned with. He was the head of Earth's defense, and he knew that Eureka was the best thing Earth had going for it in this respect. His problem, was that he didn't know who had been selected for the Eureka Weapons Oversight Committee. Anyone might have been selected, and if the wrong people were on the committee, they would be in trouble. Jackson had told O'Neill not to worry about it, but sometimes Jackson erred on the side of caution where defense was concerned.

While O'Neill was mulling over all of this, two more GD people entered the room: GD's head of Security, Jo Lupo, and the head of section five, Zane Donovan. O'Neill knew that the two were a couple, and honestly, that was fine with him. The closer the friendships with coworkers, the better they tended to work with each other. That is not to say that people who are romantically involved won't find each other a distraction in crunch time. But they can just as easily be a motivation for each other to get things done.

O'Neill looked at the group then at Jackson. "Daniel? Where are they?"

"They'll be here, Jack. Not everyone runs on military time you know. Sometimes people just like to be fashionably late. I've even known you to be that way yourself. Remember the importance of a certain crossword puzzle? "

O'Neill glowered at Jackson. "That's different, Daniel. I wasn't the one being made to wait then."

Just then, a group of people entered the conference room. "Hi everyone. Sorry we're late," Trent Rockwell said as he strode in. He glanced around the room. "It looks like everyone is here, so why don't we get started."

O'Neill's mouth dropped open as he saw the group entering the room. First were the other three owners of Eureka. But the group following were all known to him. As they sat down, Jackson took the lead and introduced everyone. "I'm sure that all of the Stargate team knows each of the members of the oversight committee. But for those of you in Eureka who don't know all of them, I'll make the introductions. This is Air Force Lieutenant General George Hammond, retired. He's the chairman of the Eureka Weapons Oversight Committee, or "EWOC" for short. Air Force Major General Henry "Hank" Landry, retired. Former IOA member Richard Woolsey, and current Mayor of Atlantis. No, I'm not kidding. Air Force Captain Janet Fraser MD, retired, and I believe you all know, Dr. Zoe Carter."

At Jackson's introduction, Zoe grinned and waved her hand at her friends and family seated around the room. "Hi," she said brightly.

Jack, for his part, stammered, "Zoe… how… when… wha…?! "

His wife rescued him. "Zoe! It's great to see you!"

Woolsey, the single member of the team who hadn't met Jack Carter at one time or other looked questioningly at Zoe. She caught the look and explained. "Sheriff Carter is my Dad."

Dr. Donovan asked Woolsey with a slight smirk, "Mayor of Atlantis?"

Woolsey nodded and said, "We'll come back to that in a little bit."

Hammond leaned close to O'Neill, and in a stage whisper said to him, "I hope Daniel doesn't use as many big words as he usually does, otherwise we'll be here forever." Sam stifled a laugh, Teal'c smiled (for him) broadly, and O'Neill simply nodded gravely.

"I'm Doctor Daniel Jackson. I'm here to tell you about some things which you have all been granted clearance for. General Johnathan O'Neill, or Jack as he is known, is head of Homeworld Defense. That title is granted by the Pentagon, but it is recognized by every government on Earth.

"I am going to show you a few DVDs to bring you up to speed on Stargate Command. I know some of you already have knowledge of the SGC, but not all of you do. For those of you not in the know, General O'Neill and the White House have granted each person in this room clearance to hear anything and everything known about the stargate and offworld activities. First, however, General Samantha Carter would like to say a few things.

Sam stood up and walked to the front of the room. "Thank you, Daniel. For the past several years, Global Dynamics, specifically your section five, has been given certain … artifacts from offworld … and told to figure out how they work. One of the things the SGC has always liked about the way GD has done this, is that you have always built a comparable device with earth based technology. We have found that this inevitably makes a much more stable device than one based on alien technology. Our goal in coming here and giving you clearance to know about the SGC is to facilitate this relationship. Basically, if you know why you are researching something, it will help you design better tools for their purposes." She looked at General O'Neill, then at Jackson. "I'm going to turn this over to Dr. Jackson's computer now, and he can show you the DVDs he needs to. Thank you."

Sam left the podium, and Jackson pressed a button, dimming the lights, and starting a video playing. The videos took quite some time, but they told the group what they needed about the SGC and the fighting that had been going on with the Goa'uld.

Jackson stood and went to the center of the table. He waved his hand over it, and a simulation of the Earth appeared above it. He brought his hands together above the table in a clapping gesture, and the earth shrunk and the stars of the Milky Way flew into focus and suddenly the entire galaxy seemed to be floating above the table.

"We could very soon be having some serious problems on our Earth. Over the past few years, we have been, unknown to the populace at large, at war with a group of superbeings known as 'the Ori'. They are what we call, 'ascended beings', which basically means they have no need for physical bodies. They demand and receive worship from their followers, as if they were gods." He waved his right hand, and a section of the galaxy turned red. "This is the portion of our galaxy that the Ori currently control. This is not hugely significant, but their rate of expansion is." Again, Jackson moved a hand, and a small light blinked brightly on the far side of the galaxy from the red part. "This is Earth. We project that the Ori could be here, at Earth, in five years. The Ori's model for subjugation of a planet is, attack, decimate, enslave, and brainwash into submission. Once the population of a planet starts worshiping the Ori, the Ori start to draw additional strength from this worship. This additional strength will be used to subjugate another planet, and another and another, until there is no one left to oppose them. Their ultimate goal is to develop enough strength to take on the Ancients, who are superbeings like themselves, but far more numerous."

"If they don't have corporeal bodies, how do we fight them?" Henry asked.

Sam decided to answer Henry's question. "We don't have to fight the Ori themselves. They are being kept at bay by the Ancients. We just need to keep their 'missionaries' from converting more people. That keeps the energy transfer of worship from becoming more powerful."

Jack nodded. "And by keeping the energy transfer lower, the demon people aren't able to beat the Ancients."

Jo seemed incensed. "So we're just going to let these 'Ancients' fight our war for us?"

Hammond spoke up. "It's not our war, Miz Lupo. Besides; There's really not a lot we can do to fight the Ori. Like Henry said. How can we fight someone who doesn't need a physical body and is beyond our ability to interact with?"

Jo nodded, but was still frustrated. "I'm sorry, General. I'm not used to sitting back and letting others fight for me."

"I understand completely, however, keep in mind that we're not sitting back and doing nothing. We are actively fighting on another front."

At that, Jo nodded and seemed somewhat appeased.

Rockwell looked at Henry, and at some barely noticeable sign from Henry, asked "So what can GD do for you, General O'Neill?"

"We need big honkin space guns and big honkin space ships."

Jack looked at Allison and exclaimed, "See! That's why I like O'Neill. He speaks English, not Science!"

Allison shook her head fondly, and turned to Sam. "Can we get a translation for those who don't speak 'Jack'?"

"You see how I have always been able to understand the General so easily. I grew up with his twin." Sam told her.

"Yeah. Dad always talks like that." Zoe nodded.

"I think what the General was trying to say is that we need to expand Earth's fleet," Daniel interjected. "What would be nice is if we could bring the Stargate to GD, but I don't think the Air Force would allow it."

"Why not?" Henry asked. "Just bring it here."

Jackson smiled and shook his head. "It doesn't work that way, Henry. They're kinda possessive about their gate."

"But it's not 'their' gate," Henry said. He looked at Daniel closely and saw the baffled look on his face. "You mean to tell me that you don't know?"

"Uh…. Know what?" Jackson asked.

"The gate was leased to the Air Force by Catherine Langford. Upon her death, the lease was over. Her will stated that you inherited all of the artifacts owned by her, whether in a museum or not. That included the Stargate, Daniel. It's not the Air Force's gate. It's yours." Henry saw that the group around the table seemed skeptical. "We have a copy of her will in a safe deposit box at the Bank of Eureka. She spoke to me about leaving things to you, Daniel, because she thought you would be able to make sure people used the gate for more scientific uses than the military would."

Hammond stared incredulously at Henry. Then, slowly he started to smile. "Really!" He said. "Well doesn't that just about beat all."

Samantha Carter looked at Jackson with a huge grin on her face. "Tell them you want it back, Daniel.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: There is a forum up on Compbrain1720's page where we will answer all questions in the reviews for this story.
> 
> Well… I should say that we'll answer what we can.
> 
> Standard Disclaimer - The authors would like to say that they do not own any part of Eureka! or Stargate, in any of its incarnations. We just like the stories enough to write our own fiction regarding them.
> 
> Please Review!

Chapter 2

After Henry surprised Daniel with the information that he was actually, legally the owner of the Stargate, Daniel decided it was time to spring a few surprises on Henry and the Global Dynamics people.

"Before we go any farther, there's someone we'd like you to meet. His people have been a valuable ally to us. We first met his people several years ago on a planet called Cimmeria. We had inadvertently destroyed a device of their construction which protected Cimmeria, and we needed to try to fix the situation. Thor, himself, fixed it."

Jackson grimaced at the memory, and Teal'c added for the benefit of those not in the know. "We only made the situation worse until Daniel Jackson and Samantha Carter, with the help of a Cimmarian woman discovered a way to contact Thor."

Jack looked from Jackson to Teal'c, then back again. Then he asked his sister. "Thor? You mean the big Norse guy, wears a helmet and goes around smashing things with a hammer?"

Sam laughed at this and said, "well… I've never seen him wear… well…. Anything, let alone a helmet. As far as smashing things with a hammer… I'll leave that up to you to decide when you see him."

Jackson smiled and said matter-of-factly, "Thor developed an alter ego that was a bit different than the truth, but it was quite effective." He picked up his cell phone and dialed a number. "Are you ready, supreme commander?" Jackson listened for a moment, then said, "Yes. I've given you an introduction. We're ready." He hung up the phone, and a sound and light issued from the other side of the room. Heads turned, and there were audible gasps when, what looked for all the world like a Roswell Gray, materialized in the room.

"Greetings. I am Supreme Commander Thor of the Asgard Fleet."

General O'Neill stood up and approached the Gray. "Thor! Buddy! I still think you should have said, 'Take me to your leader.'"

After all introductions were made with the diminutive Norse god, O'Neill stood and said, "I think we're all here now. Henry, would you mind showing us around?"

"Certainly, General," Henry said. He was a bit taken aback by the appearance of the Asgard. He had known for several years that there were humans on different planets, and intellectually, he had known that there were aliens in the form of Goa'uld, but to meet someone like Thor… Someone who was a god to an earth culture, and to find out that he was actually a Roswell Gray. That blew him away. "If you'll all follow me, we'll see the Robotics Lab first."

As they were leaving the conference room, Zoe Carter fell into step beside her father. "This is kinda surreal, isn't it. Bet you didn't figure we'd be doing this when we had that accident and were stranded in Eureka - meeting a Gray who just happens to be Thor, the God of Thunder, and preparing for war against Super Aliens from another galaxy, did you?"

During the walk, Jack observed O'Neill chatting amiably with Thor. It was disconcerting, but Jack had known the general for several years, and his sister had a thing for him. O'Neill was a friend. Not as good as Henry was, but a very good friend nonetheless. If O'Neill was friends with Thor, then that was good enough for Jack. But it was still disconcerting.

"You're staring," his wife's voice was just above a whisper, and when he started and looked quickly at her, she continued with the smile still plastered on her face and without moving her lips. "You're staring at Thor. It's not polite." Then she smiled radiantly at him and he knew she found it just as strange as he did.

"Sorry… I…" Jack suddenly found that he didn't have the slightest idea what to say. He finally settled on, "who knows what he finds impolite!" At a very slight shake of Allison's head, coupled with a resolute frown and her staring straight ahead, Jack knew he had once again put his foot in it. He slowly turned his head the other way and looked down… And down. He had to stifle a groan when he found the enormous black eyes looking up at him.

"Greetings, Sheriff Carter. I have heard much about you and have been anticipating meeting you."

"Uhh… Yeah." Jack had to stifle another groan as he heard Ally trying desperately not to laugh out loud from his other side. The worst part of it was that his sister, General that she was, keeping stride with O'Neill, had looked back at him, eyes sparkling with merriment, with the biggest grin he had ever seen on her face.

"I believe you are experiencing, what humans would refer to as shock and awe. This is a normal occurrence when humans meet me for the first time." Thor's expression didn't change in the slightest, but Jack knew he was being teased. If he had any doubts though, they evaporated, when his sister, the General, fell to her knees and laughed herself nearly sick. Allison, his loving wife, joined her.

Zoe glanced back at him from where she had been talking with the rest of the EWOCs and said sweetly, "Practicing your diplomacy skills, Dad?"

Jack couldn't take it anymore and started laughing himself.

He was saved from anything further as they turned the corner into the robotics lab.

Henry took the lead and with a broad grin at Jack said, "This is our robotics section." As the group walked through the door, a feminine voice said, "Good Morning everyone. I'm Martha."

Henry responded, "Good morning Martha. How are you today?" As he spoke, a military attack drone rose into the air a few feet from the group, a single red light glaring menacingly from a slit in the front of its shell. "I'm doing great Dr. Deacon. And you?" Eva Thorne, who had personally experienced the drone's firepower, backed cautiously away. A couple of years before, Martha had been hacked by a remote control device, attached to her casing. This, in conjunction with some at the time, unknown, modifications to her abilities allowed Martha to breach her programming. She actually shot at the person trying to control her, at a time when he was standing beside Eva Thorne.

"I'm fine, Martha." Henry turned to the group and saw Thorne backing away. "It's ok, Miss Thorne. We've come to an agreement with Martha, and vice versa." To the group, he explained, "Martha was originally created as an attack drone for testing our VIPER system, but she quickly outgrew her programming. We found that as Martha learned, she went through a stage, very much like a human teenager. She even became self aware, and, since drones of this type are generally destroyed in testing, she… rebelled. Now, however, Martha gets along with everyone here at GD. Unless you're a smoker. She's made it her business to make sure the 'no smoking' policy of GD is adhered to."

Next, Henry turned to a table along one wall where a shroud covered form was lying. "Now I'd like to show you one of Dr. Fargo's projects." He turned to Fargo. "Would you like to explain Andy 2 to everyone, Fargo?"

Fargo wasn't prepared for speaking, but being head of GD had changed him. He was able to jump right in without a prepared speech now. "Sure Dr. Deacon." He stepped to the front of the group, and his whole demeanor became that of a lecturer. "Andy 2 is a second generation GD android. He is based on our Sheriff's Deputy Andy, who is the prototype for almost all GD androids. I have seen the specs for the Harlan type androids SG1 encountered, and while there are certain similarities inherent in all androids, Andys 1 & 2 operate in a much different way. They utilize a photonic processor coupled with a 10 kiloquad solid state hard drive for processing power and data storage."

Henry stepped back and stood by Jack and Allison while he watched Fargo continue explaining Andy 2 to the group. "You set him up," Ally said to him.

"I want him back," Henry said to her. "Holly too. They're both needed here. I thought getting him talking about Andy might get him missing it here."

"Well, he's certainly missing it, but you'll need to get Holly missing it as well. I don't think he'll come back without her, nor should he," Jack said.

Henry looked at his friend and nodded. "I agree Jack. I need to get General O'Neill to pull some strings so it looks better for her to come back here than to continue with her special project."

Jack nodded and asked, "Any idea what that is?"

"No idea. I just know Fargo said it involved travel."

They turned their attention back towards Fargo and his extremely interested audience. Sam appeared to be eager to ask a couple of questions. "Are the GD androids sentient?"

"True sentience is hard to gauge, as I'm sure you're aware, General. However, I don't think you could find anyone in Eureka who thought of Deputy Andy as anything less than an individual. He has become a friend with everyone, and while he has certain abilities that set him apart from the human population, as well as a few personality quirks, he fits in as one with them as well, if that makes any sense."

"Actually, it does," Sam said, looking at Teal'c. "Why human form robots? It makes specialization pretty well impossible," she asked Fargo.

"While Martha is certainly self-aware, her form limits what she is able to do. No offense Martha," Fargo stated.

"None taken, Douglas"

"With Andy, he is limited only by what tools can fit in his hands. He does have some extra senses that humans don't have. Built in night vision… x-ray vision, as corny as that may sound… His hearing is about as acute as a bat's. Also, we have adapted a synthetic mucus to work in Andy's olfactory system, giving him a wonderful sense of smell which is on a par with a bloodhound.

"As well, we have found that a human form robot is inherently able to integrate into the population much easier than one like, say Martha, or even my car, which has an AI. Even though I interact with my car on a daily basis and can have conversations with her, she is generally unable to interact beyond the scope of transportation.

"Because of the ability to integrate into society, an android like Andy, can learn to pick up on social cues, and blend in completely," Fargo concluded, remembering Calister Raines, and how no one had had any clue that he was an android.

"Andy is a truly remarkable… person," Rockwell said. "What changes are you making in Andy 2?"

"Andy 2 is designed around Jack's photonic processor, where Deputy Andy wasn't. We were able to modify Deputy Andy to be able to use the processor safely, but Andy 2 is designed to be able to utilize it from the get go."

Sam looked startled at Fargo's words. "Jack's photonic processor?"

Before anyone could explain, Jack spoke up. "Just a little something I worked up one day when I had some spare time. No biggie."

Sam looked completely unconvinced.

"Actually, Jack's processor sparked lots of new ideas here at GD," Henry said. "We're doing an upgrade on our main computer core based on it. If you will follow me, I'll show you the computer core and that upgrade."

The group left the robotics lab and travelled to the center of GD. They needed to each put on clean suits to enter the core. Thor was a bit of a challenge to find a clean suit for, but eventually they had him suited up as well. Here, Dr. Donovan took the lead and introduced the group to the system. He explained the quantum teleportation link to the DOD, which had been transferred to Homeworld Security, and how he felt it could benefit the SGC.

"The Stargate allows for radio frequencies to go either way through the wormhole, am I correct?" Zane asked Sam.

"Yes," she replied. "However, anything more substantial, which is just about everything, is one way only. You can only transport matter from the originating gate to the destination gate."

"Ok," Zane said. "That's what I understood Dr Jackson's DVD's to say."

He was fully into his teaching mode now. "What we're proposing is utilizing the quantum teleportation link for much greater distances. We utilize the micro wormholes inherent in quantum level physics, which means there is virtually no distance limit to how far we can transmit information. This could be set up on a planet to have continual communication without a stargate having to be open. If I know the coordinates, and relative motions of each planet, I could have a phone conversation with someone in the Andromeda Galaxy, realtime."

The next place Henry took the group to, was the hanger where Astraeus had been moved to after the fiasco with Senator Wen and Beverly Barlow. There, the speaking was taken over by Henry's wife, Grace, who was the commander of the Astraeus mission. Grace explained the ship and it's functions. The ship was exploratory, but it was also something that could be expanded on.

Fargo explained the Astraeus' engines and Zane explained the construction mites he had created to build the ship. "Basically," he explained, "you program into them the blueprints of the ship, and they will build it from the ground up. They use whatever raw materials you tell them to."

"What about security with the mites?" This was from General Landry. "We've had enough problems with replicators to where it's safe to say, none of us are very fond of nanites." Noone who had worked with the SGC looked thrilled about what Zane was saying.

Carter stepped in and explained to Zane. "Replicators are very similar to your construction mites. They, unfortunately, are independent and not under human control." He turned to Allison and Henry. "Think of Taggert's nanoids that made the multiple Starks, on steroids with each individual copy of Stark independently thinking but constantly communicating with the others, and you've got replicators."

"We're concerned about your construction mites getting out of control," General Hammond said. "What have we got to make sure that that doesn't happen?"

"Well we did lose control once. After that I made some modifications. I beefed up the security built into their programming. They can ONLY use raw materials found in a certain grid. As well, I've built a safeguard that prohibits them using any organic matter as raw material. The last safeguard is that no mite has its own power supply. Instead, I built a variant of the Tesla Wireless power transmitter which transmits power only to within a the shipyard grid. If something happens we can shut them down by killing the power. This power grid is also a security system in itself. If a mite strays outside the grid, it has no power, and will shut down immediately," Zane explained. "It's quite secure actually."

"Can you guarantee that no mite will get loose?" O'Neill asked.

"General. Not only is there the security I've mentioned, but whenever a mite manufactures a new mite from raw materials, it scans the new one before activating it. If that mite isn't identical to itself except for mac address, it destroys it and starts again. There isn't any room for variation in the programming." Zane was getting very defensive.

The EWOCs were discussing things quietly off to one side of the room. Jack could see that O'Neill and Zane were getting ready for a very heated discussion, and he decided to intervene. He nodded to O'Neill, and lightly took Zane's arm, turning him away in the process. "Zane. I understand the problems these people have with the mites. I've also seen what they can do here, and how useful they are. Let's give them time to talk about things and see what they say. Remember the problems we've had here. I know General O'Neill, and he's a good man, OK? He's also a man who won't let feeling's overrun his common sense. Neither will Hammond or Landry. They're going to think about what you've said, but you getting upset and possibly yelling at them won't help the situation, ok?"

"Jack. Trust me. I'm not getting upset," Zane said and turned back to O'Neill. With an effort, Zane said to O'Neill, "General. Would you please let me show you what my mites can do."

O'Neill looked at him for a long moment, then said. "Tell you what. You convince me that your mites are worth a try. Do that, and I'll convince the EWOCs that they're worth a try. Deal? Just remember, I'm a hard sell."

Zane nodded, and looked at Jack hard. Jack pointed at O'Neill and mouthed good man. Zane nodded, looking unconvinced, then went over to a large computer console. Sam followed, and soon the three were talking animatedly while schematics of the Astraeus twisted this way and that above the table.

Zoe walked up to her dad. "The 2Gs say if Zane can convince General O'Neill, they'll allow the mites for offworld production of ships for the SGC."

"2Gs?" Jack asked.

"The two generals," Zoe said with a smile. All four of the other EWOCs are very leary about the mites. I can understand where they're coming from, but I know Zane. He's irreverent, but he cares. He has built in lots of safeguards, and he knows what he's doing. Strange, but I think my knowledge of Zane might have made the others willing to listen regardless of what they have experienced before."

Jack smiled at his daughter. "You're part of something big here, Zoe. I'm proud of you."

Zoe regarded her father. "I always knew you were playing dumb with some things." Carter grinned broadly at that, and his daughter continued. "You were good at it, which is kinda a back handed compliment, I admit. But I understand why you couldn't tell me about the stargate. That's something else."

"You've seen it?"

"We went to the alpha site."

Jack nodded knowingly, and she asked, "You've been there too?"

"Yeah." Jack nodded again. "Did it seem to take a long time to travel through the gate?"

She shuddered. "Forever!"

He laughed out loud at that. "Me too."

Suddenly from across the room came O'Neill's voice. "Well why didn't you say that at the beginning? Would have saved us all this arguing."

O'Neill came back across the room and spoke to the rest of the group. "Dr. Donovan says that one of his mites can replicate itself quickly enough to build an army - he used the word community, but it's an army - and build a ship the size of Astraeus in a week. An already established army could do it in half that time. Given that we need ships quickly, I'll allow offworld production of ships with mites." He turned to Zane. "I'm a hard sell, but I can be convinced. Don't let them screw up, Donovan." Then he grinned at Zane.

Henry motioned for people to follow him, and as they headed towards the Planetary Defense section of GD, he and Sam started to talk. "You know. We've had this section, but until today, I never really believed we would need to use any of the things made in it."

Sam smiled at him. "Dr. Deacon. You'd be surprised how many devices have been built here in Eureka that we have found invaluable offworld. My brother has never broken promises to keep secret anything he's seen or heard of in Eureka, but he has told me to check out research on certain things. For example, a few years ago he told me to check out research on phasing technology. You see, we came across a highly sophisticated device built by Merlin, and..."

"Merlin? I remember in Dr. Jackson's videos, he said that many of our ancient legends were based on the reality of the Goa'uld and Ancients. Not to mention Norse Gods. So when you say Merlin, do you mean...? " He trailed off.

"I mean Merlin of King Arthur legend fame. Yes. We even got to meet him."

"That would be... incredible!" Henry said. "But you mentioned Jack passed on some ideas for research to you. You mean Jack has known about the Stargate for years?"

Sam actually blushed at that. "Yes. Jack first went through the stargate about the time he moved to Eureka, but he had known about it and seen it in operation about three years before that."

"So when he asked me, years ago, if there were really 'little green men'..."

"He already knew the answer to that, yes."

Henry started laughing at that. "He really pulled one over on me."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, he had never seen Thor until today."

At the Planetary Defense division, the group was introduced to Dr. Irvin Thatcher and he explained patiently, as if to children, the workings of his Irradiated Uranium Particle Beam.

Sam had seen the specs for the IUPB, and had even modified them a bit for use on a ship. "If you bounced that back to earth it could incinerate the atmosphere."

"Yes, my dear. It was originally designed for mutually assured destruction. If you were going to use it," he said, knowing that she probably would, "I wouldn't use it near a planetary atmosphere."

"I'll keep that in mind, Sir," she said.

Next, they went to the non-lethal weapon's lab run by Dr. Parrish. While most people found Parrish' attitude abrasive, they would also admit that he was brilliant. As he was lecturing them on several of his accomplishments, Sam commented to Woolsey, "we really have to lock him and Rodney in a room together. We might just get rid of them both that way."

When Parrish showed them his iFire, or 'firefly' as he wanted to call it, Sam was reluctantly impressed. "That would be very useful on ships." O'Neill agreed. Fires were bad on any ship, where there was no place to go to get away from it, but on a spaceship, if the fire got through the hull, there was only the cold vacuum of space waiting to claim the crew, and the chances of being saved in that the limited amount of time a spacesuit would afford someone was as close to zero as you could get without actually being zero.

When they left the lab, O'Neill turned to Sam. "Is it my imagination, or is that guy as full of himself as McKay?"

Sam drew her mouth into a thin line and nodded. Then she started laughing as Teal'c said, "Dr. Parrish appears to possess an ego almost as big as a system lord's."

The next stop on their tour left the group completely speechless. They had never before seen anything like the body printer. Allison explained how it worked and they even got to meet Holly, Douglas Fargo's fiance. "Dr. Marten's mind was active inside a computer, but her body had died. We printed her a body that is controlled by a computer utilizing Jack's photonic processor. Her body is printed based on her own genetic code. We can print any body based on any genetic code. The computer controlling the printer will extrapolate how the body should be laid out, and print it."

Thor was extremely fascinated by this technology. "We will need to talk about this in more depth, Dr. Carter," he told Allison.

Allison also showed them the rest of the medical labs, where Zoe and Janet Fraiser were fascinated by everything they saw. "I wish we had had this type of technology at the SGC," Janet remarked.

Once they were back in the conference room, Jackson told them, "Now, Sam has a gift for you, Dr. Deacon."

Sam stood up and picked up an ordinary briefcase. She opened it and pulled out a foam wrapped item. Gingerly she unwrapped it as she carried the object to Henry. "This is a ZPM, or Zero Point Module. We would like you to study it, and figure out how to duplicate it's abilities. Once you do that, you can power all of GD from that one device. I'll show you how it works once we're done with the tours."

"Well. No time like the present as we're done with the tour," Henry said, interested in how this one small crystal could power all of GD.

O'Neill stood up. "We're not quite done, Dr. Deacon. We have something to show you now."

General O'Neill lead the group outside to the parking lot in front of GD. He dialed a number on his phone and spoke into it. "We're ready here." Then he hung up and put his hands behind his back. He turned to Henry and said simply, "Wait for it." Within ten seconds, there was a noise and the faint thump of something setting down on the ground beside them. Then, a small craft became visible as it's hatch opened.

O'Neill turned to the group from where he'd been watching as the invisible became visible. "Ok, everyone. Climb aboard. This would be our ride."

When the Eureka group hesitated, Jack Carter started walking towards the 'jumper'. "where are we going?" he asked O'Neill.

"Atlantis," the General said, matter-of-factly.

At that, Zane started to laugh. Jo nudged him in the ribs and when he complained, she stated simply, "The General isn't laughing, Zane. I don't think he's kidding."

"No," said O'Neill as everyone climbed aboard the jumper. "Sorry it's a bit tight for so many people, but we're not going very far. Only to Lake Archimedes." He indicated the pilot of the jumper. "This is Colonel John Sheppard. He's lived in Atlantis for the past eight years."

"Hi," Sheppard nodded and smiled at the group. "Hey, Zane. Good to see you," he said, as he closed the hatch and made the ship invisible before lifting it off the ground.

Zane just stood there with his mouth hanging open.

Henry looked at O'Neill as if he was crazy. "You're trying to tell me that Atlantis is in Lake Archimedes?"

"Well... It hasn't always been. We only brought it here last week," O'Neill said. "Daniel? A little help here, please?"

Jackson made his way up beside O'Neill. "Always need my help on the tough stuff, huh Jack?"

"I can make it on my own," O'Neill said. When Jackson looked skeptical, he added, "Sometimes."

"No problem, Jack," Jackson said. He turned to the group and raised his voice a bit. "Those of you who have been in the know with the Stargate program are aware that several years ago, we discovered Atlantis. We found that the city had originally been in Antarctica. However, the Ancients who built the city left Earth five million years ago. They took the city to the Pegasus Galaxy and set it down on a world known as Lantea. When we found the city, it was submerged under an ocean on Lantea. So, the legends of Atlantis were true. Only, instead of being submerged underwater here on Earth, Atlantis had been submerged on a different planet, in a different galaxy.

"The city is what we call a city ship. It is completely self contained, and normally sits on an ocean or some body of water. However, if the need arises, it is capable of space travel, and has an incredibly powerful drive, although it uses a very large amount of power when in flight. We brought Atlantis to Earth three years ago, when the Wraith, a species from the Pegasus Galaxy, were attacking. It was sitting on the ocean just outside San Francisco Bay for a month, cloaked. For the rest of the time, it has been sitting in a caldera lake on an island owned by Alec Coulson."

As Jackson was talking, Jo asked Zane, "So you know Sheppard? Your mouth is still hanging open. What's the story?"

"John Sheppard and I grew up together. When we were kids, we were the best of friends. I wasn't sure where he had gone."

When Jo failed to respond, Zane glanced at her, but her eyes were captivated by something outside the ship. Zane looked ahead, and his jaw dropped open.

In front of the little ship was a magnificent city. It had spires reaching toward the heavens, and what were obviously landing pads, reaching out from the central part of the city, sitting like lily pads on the surface of Lake Archimedes. Sheppard piloted the craft around the city, so the Eurekans could see it in all it's grandeur. He swung the little ship around a balcony where two people were standing, observing the jumper as it came in for a landing. The jumper stopped and hovered a moment, facing the balcony and the room beyond it. The two people on the balcony, a man with long dark hair, and a petite woman with light hair, waved. Then the jumper rose straight up. It moved into a bay above the room they had seen beyond the balcony and come to rest. The door in the rear opened, and O'Neill, after thanking Sheppard, stepped out onto the floor of the city.

They were in Atlantis.


	3. Chapter 3

Standing outside the jumper was Rodney McKay. He was, for lack of a better way of putting it, Chief Engineer of Atlantis. If anyone knew how to work with Lantean technology, it was Rodney McKay. As the GD people stepped out of the jumper, they stared around them in awe. Here was a city that was built in a completely alien way. Yet it wasn't alien. The proportions were all normal for humans. In fact, the jumper that they had flown in was clearly built for someone with a human physique. Dr. McKay stepped forward. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you," he said smoothly. "I've heard a lot about GD, and I've seen some of the technology that's come out of here. Some of it is really quite impressive."

O'Neill gave McKay a dirty look, and General Carter stepped forward. "Some of it, Rodney?"

McKay shrugged. "The phasing vest is cool." He paused and then shrugged as if he didn't know what else to say.

Doctor Deacon held out his hand, rescuing McKay from his own arrogance. "I'm sure living in Atlantis makes even the extraordinary seem mundane."

O'Neill shook his head. "No, Dr. Deacon. Rodney is just an arrogant jerk, but he's pretty smart, which is why he's still here."

Teal'c nodded sagely and said dryly, "Indeed, O'Neill. If one were to buy Rodney McKay for what they thought of him, and sell him for what he thought of himself, that individual would never have to work for money as long as they were to live."

Colonel Sheppard stepped out of the jumper at that moment and quipped, "I don't think such a transaction would be legal because of the consequences for the poor person who bought him."

McKay shook his head. "You people are unreal. I've just met these people from Global Dynamics, and you're already running me down to them."

Sheppard started to say something, but O'Neill held up his hand. "Rodney's right. We shouldn't run him down like this. We'll let the people from GD form their own opinions regarding him. It shouldn't take too long for them to come to the same conclusions we have."

Rodney started to say something again, but this time O'Neill stopped McKay from commenting. "Whaddaya want, McKay? I'm not running you down now. I'm letting you do it yourself." With that, O'Neill started away from the jumper, and McKay had no choice but to follow, stewing.

As they stepped away from the jumper, the Eureka people looked around them in awe. Fifteen jumpers were arrayed in a circular pattern on two levels. Rodney explained that the jumper bay was directly above the gate room, and that the jumpers were designed to fit through the eye of a stargate. "When we want to take a jumper through, we lower it to the gateroom. Each jumper has a DHD built into the control console, so they can even go through a space gate and return safely."

He led the way down to the gate room, so they could see what he was talking about. When Carter saw the Stargate, he commented on the difference between it and the one at SG1. McKay nodded, "Yes. This stargate has no moving parts, unlike it's Milky Way Galaxy equivalent. The dialup sequence is much faster as well. It's a next generation stargate, however, it is completely compatible with the Milky Way Stargate network. We can receive incoming wormholes right here. Or, we can open a wormhole and send people anywhere we choose. At the moment, the SGC has orders to let us receive incoming, so they've powered down. Only one stargate can be active at a time on any given planet. Actually, this stargate will supercede any Milky Way equivalent."

Henry Deacon and Fargo were captivated by the stargate. Zane was trying to be nonchalant about it, but he was failing miserably at that. "So you can open a wormhole to anywhere in our galaxy from here?" He asked.

"Not exactly, Dr. Donovan," McKay said. "We can only open a wormhole to another stargate. However, there are thousands of stargates on thousands of different worlds here in our galaxy, and thousands more in the Pegasus Galaxy."

Allison had been slowly walking towards the gate, but at McKay's words, she stopped. "You mean to tell me that a person can walk through that gate and be in another galaxy?"

"Yes, Dr. Carter. That's how we first travelled to Atlantis. Actually, Dr. Deacon, you'd be very interested to see how our wormhole drive works. It's very similar in operation to a stargate, but we can move the entire cityship through the wormholes generated by it."

Fargo's shoulders slumped, and his features took on a downcast demeanor as he said, "It looks like I'm out of a job then. That would make the Astreaus look like a snail by comparison."

Mr. Woolsey stepped up beside Fargo, who was still facing the Gate. "Actually, Dr. Fargo, we've only used the wormhole drive once, and it was deemed to be something we didn't want to use again until a lot more study had been done on it. It almost destroyed Atlantis. It's very unstable. We were hoping that you and Dr. Deacon would work with Dr. McKay and Dr. Carter to try to fix it. We'd very much like to be able to use it again."

Fargo looked surprised for a moment, but recovered quickly. "Of course! I'd be happy to help with it."

Woolsey smiled at that, and then turned to the rest of the group. "And now, I'd like to show you Atlantis. I think you'll be somewhat…. Impressed."

The group left the gate room and took a meandering tour of the accommodations in the city. They then made their way to the medical center where they were startled to meet Rodney McKay's wife, who was the Doctor in charge. O'Neill said in an aside to Carter, "We're really not sure what she sees in him, but to each his or her own, ya know?"

Carter nodded and responded, "Some people would say the same of Allison and me though."

O'Neill nodded. "You've got a point there."

Carter did a double take, then looked injured. "Well you don't have to agree with me!"

O'Neill looked startled, and as Carter looked away, he smiled broadly. The smile vanished as Carter looked back. O'Neill was all innocence as Carter asked, "So what does Sam see in you?"

Sam had been watching, and as her brother placed O'Neill on the hotseat regarding her, she blushed and looked back at Jennifer McKay, who was explaining some of her instruments to Allison and Zoe. She did, however, steal a glance back at O'Neill a couple of minutes later. His mood was still good, but as she caught his eyes, he became a bit introspective. She looked away, so as not to embarrass him, and as she did so, she had the distinct impression that she was being watched. Her head snapped around, almost involuntarily, as she looked for her observer. There was nothing there. Then, the feeling dissipated. No… It wasn't gone, but it had receded, as if it had known that she discovered it, and had hid itself away. She shuddered, and pulled herself back to reality.

A bit later, they came to the ZPM room, and O'Neill enjoyed watching as Henry, Zane, and Fargo crowded around to see the small, golden glowing power supplies. It was Grace Deacon, however, who gave voice to all of their awe as she gazed at one of the ZPMs. "That one unit can supply enough power to hold back an ocean and still supply enough power for daily life in the city. That's incredible!"

Jo Lupo had been hanging back on the fringes of the group watching with interest as they toured the jumper bay, gate room, infirmary, and then the ZPM room. All of that was incredibly fascinating, yes, but it was all up Zane's alley. Then, they arrived at the drone storage facility. Jo had watched the videos as Dr. Jackson explained how ancient technology worked, including the ancient gene, and the "chairs" that the gene allowed someone to control. She had even noticed that as Colonel John Sheppard flew the jumper, he touched no controls. Now, her attention was captivated by the racks of drones. Like one in a trance, she slowly moved to one of the drones and tentatively reached out to touch it. She ran her hand almost lovingly over the smooth surface as Mr. Woolsey explained the defenses of his city.

"One drone can take out multiple targets. Often, the person controlling them will simply ram a drone through multiple ships. In battles with the wraith, with a fully charged ZPM, I've seen Colonel Sheppard take out as many as twelve wraith darts and a hive ship with a single drone," he said.

Sheppard shrugged his shoulders and commented, "I targeted the reactor core. As long as the drone still functions, it's useful. They are incredibly responsive and agile. They can change directions almost as fast as you can tell them to."

Jo was enthralled. "What's the power source?"

McKay answered her. "Each drone has a pulse/wave engine powered by a mini ZPM." Jo shrugged her shoulders and made a 'give me more' gesture as she shook her head.

McKay gave a long suffering sigh as he prepared to lecture. "The pulse/wave engine utilizes a laser which shoots pulses of energy into a small bit of fuel. When the fuel is converted to energy, the shields around the combustion chamber inhibit the energy from being expended. As more and more fuel is converted to energy, it creates a warping of space, which is able to propel the drone. By altering the location of the warping inside the combustion chamber, we can change the direction of the drone."

"I see," Jo said.

"Sure you do," Rodney quipped. " Then you can let me know when you have some improvements to incorporate into it."

Zane had been quietly talking to Sheppard in the back of the group, but at McKay's implied sneer at his fiance's intelligence, his head snapped up and the color drained from his face. Sheppard saw his reaction and quietly asked, "Did McKay just set a date with destiny?"

Zane looked his friend in the eye and said, "Let's just say if Jo were to pick a fight with Thor's legend, I'd place my money on her."

Sheppard nodded solemnly. "Then I'd say she needs to have a sparring match with our Teyla."

Jo stiffened at McKay's words, but didn't say anything about it. Allison looked at her husband who was simply shaking his head. As the group left the drone room, Allison took Jack's hand and said in a low voice. "Now we won't even get to know McKay before Jo kills him."

Jack shook his head. "That's ok. He reminds me too much of Parrish. I don't think I want to get to know him."

Sam and O'Neill fell into step beside the Carters. Allison took note of the fact that O'Neill's hand was lightly on her sister-in-law's back as well.

"I kinda noticed the resemblance between the two when we met Dr. Parrish. I'd be afraid of the two in the same room. Their ego's would suffocate anyone unlucky enough to be there with them," O'Neill commented.

Jack Carter nodded enthusiastically, and had to bite his tongue to keep from mentioning Nathan Stark, Allison's late ex-husband.

Samantha leaned over to her brother and whispered, "Was Nathan really as bad?"

"Worse!" he said, then stopped in his tracks. "Wait a minute, Sam. I didn't say anything!"

"And if you hadn't said anything just now, no one would have been the wiser," she countered.

All four of the group had stopped now, as the rest of the tour continued up the corridor. "Did I miss something?" O'Neill asked.

Samantha looked her brother in the eye and he clearly heard her ask, "Shall we tell them?" in his mind, although her mouth didn't move.

He nodded, and in her turn she heard, "We may as well, now. You go ahead."

"Recently, Jack and I have found we can communicate, …. Well... telepathically."

O'Neill looked concerned. "How recently?"

Samantha took a deep breath. "For about the last two years." At O'Neill's sharp glance, she hurried on. "Jack and my security clearance are about the same, General."

"I'm not worried about that kind of security clearance, General," O'Neill stressed her title since she had used his. "There are other things he definitely does not have clearance for."

At Samantha's blush, Allison was very glad that she wasn't a fair haired blonde like her sister-in-law. The crimson color in Sam's cheeks left no doubt whatsoever of the type of clearance her brother lacked.

Sam glared at Jack the General. "And if you hadn't said anything, no one would have been the wiser on that either. Normally Jack and I have to intend to communicate with each other."

Allison asked, innocently enough, "What do you mean by normally?"

Jack Carter turned to his wife. "Unless we're really emotional about something..." He realized this was not helping. "I mean we have to get excite... What I mean is..." He stopped. He was going to have a hard time digging his way out of this.

Allison confirmed his fears. "You're digging deeper, not out."

He nodded. "I know."

She nodded with him, a small smile playing across her lips. "Uh huh… Couch tonight?"

He nodded again. "I figured." He turned and started slowly walking toward the group that had stopped several yards up the corridor. The others followed.

The next stop on the itinerary was the docks. These were enormous pads arrayed like lily pads around the central spires of the city.

When the tour was complete, they came back to the gate room. When they all filed in, Mr. Woolsey answered a few questions about the city, then he turned things over to Samantha Carter. She stepped forward and waited until everyone was paying attention to her.

"Several years ago, we traveled to a planet that had been uninhabitable for eleven thousand years. Even though it wasn't habitable by organic beings, there was a... person... there. He was an android whose creator had download his consciousness into, when the planet had ceased to support organic life. Harlan, as we found his name to be, had been tending the machinery that supported his mechanical life for those eleven thousand years. Harlan made duplicates of us to help him, and to keep him company. We left the duplicates of us there, but they were destroyed on another occasion. We have since communicated with Harlan, and have negotiated a treaty to build a shipbuilding complex there. Now, the complex is completed, and is ready to start production."

O'Neill stepped forward, and Samantha deferred to him. "Until such time as we can transport Dr. Jackson's stargate to your section five in Global Dynamics, Atlantis will remain here in Lake Archimedes, as a means of transportation to Altair, as Harlan's planet is called. We would like both Doctor Deacons, Doctor Fargo, and Doctor Donovan to work closely with General Carter, who is in charge of the Altair shipyards, and Doctor McKay in improving the design of our 305, henceforth to be called, the GD-305. As well, personally, I would like to see Doctor Donovan's mites used to improve production speed on the GD-305. I think they can be a real asset to the production facilities there."

Fargo raised his hand tentatively. "Uh, General O'Neill... I don't know about the others, but I really don't want to be duplicated. Uh... We've had some experience with that and I know I really didn't like it."

"Not to worry, Dr. Fargo. Harlan isn't in the android making business anymore. He's learning the shipbuilding trade," O'Neill reassured him.

Again, Fargo raised his hand. "General O'Neill. Also... I really think Doctor Marten would be an asset to the team."

Samantha laughed softly at that, as did her brother. O'Neill looked at Sam who nodded affirmatively. He gestured to her, and she answered. "Dr. Marten is very welcome on the team, Dr. Fargo. I would love to hear any input she has. I know she's quite a scientist."

"And now, everyone. We'd like to show you Altair."

Mr. Woolsey nodded to the control room on the balcony, and the gate came alive. There was a gasp from several of the GD people when the wormhole flashed momentarily into the room, then as it stabilized into what looked like a pond in the middle of the ring, the anticipation became palpable. Each of the people in the room had dedicated their lives to discovery of one type or another. Even Sheriff Carter who tried to discover the truth. None of the GD personnel expected to be leaving Earth that morning, but they welcomed the opportunity to see another world. General Carter and Rodney stepped through the eye and disappeared, followed by Sheppard and the man and woman who had been standing on the balcony waving when they approached the city in the jumper. They had been introduced briefly as Teyla and Ronan.

Allison looked at Jack Carter, who nodded reassuringly. Zoe grinned broadly at her father, and stepped eagerly forward. Only Fargo held back for a moment. "Does it hurt?"

Sheriff Carter stepped towards the gate, then turned to him. "Oh, come on, Fargo. I've gone through before."

Fargo hesitated. "Yes, but you are always doing sheriffy things. You're used to risking your life. I'm not."

"Oh... Like you don't risk your life every time you push a button you know nothing about."

Grace Deacon held out her hand to Fargo. "You know, Doug. I don't know what it feels like, but SG1 has gone through literally hundreds of times and they're all ok. I want to see what's on the other side of that gate. Don't you?"

Fargo stood still, undecided for a moment, then nodded, and lunged forward. With a yell of "Bonzai!" he leaped through the gate and was gone.

O'Neill stood still for a moment staring at the gate. Then he looked towards the Sheriff. "Is he always that way?"

Carter nodded. "Yeah. He's a... He's Fargo." He shrugged his shoulders and stepped through the gate with his wife at his side. He honestly couldn't think of anything else to say or do.


	4. Chapter 4

Jack Carter emerged from the Stargate and he was cold. He turned to his right, where Ally stood. She was shivering, and rubbing her upper arms.

"Brrr! Is it... Is it always like... like this?" she asked, gasping because of the cold.

"No. I've never felt that before." He put his arms around her. "I'll help warm you up."

She smiled up at him and put her head on his shoulder.

Jack looked over to where Fargo was sitting on the steps in front of the gate. He was rubbing his forehead. Jack asked the obvious question. "What happened, Fargo?"

"I shouldn't have dived. I hit my head on the floor when I came out. To top it off, I'm freezing. Don't they believe in heat here?"

"It's seventy two degrees in the gateroom, Dr. Fargo." This was Samantha. "When we use Atlantis' gate, you always come out the other side freezing. We think it's because of the differences in the Pegasus Galaxy gates."

"That was amazing!" It was Henry. "I want to see any information you have on how these gates work!"

McKay looked at Henry from where he was on his back scrutinizing the crystals inside the DHD. "I'd be glad to show you everything I have on stargates, Dr. Deacon. As a matter of fact, If you'd like to see it, I'll be glad to point out a few of the more significant parts of this DHD."

"What are you doing, Rodney?" Samantha asked.

"I'm tired of being a popsicle every time I travel. I'm seeing if I can figure out why that gate worked just fine in Pegasis and not now!"

Henry, Fargo, and Zane were on the floor beside Rodney in a flash, and he was happily pointing out the crystalline memory of the DHD, as well as the gate power source.

Grace watched, and was taking in what McKay was telling the three men as well, without getting down on the dusty floor.

"Comtraya!"

A shortish, balding man came hurrying to the now deactivated gate where the group was clustered. He was smiling and looked absolutely thrilled to see everyone. He stopped before O'Neill and repeated what was obviously a greeting. As he did so, he clapped his hands and then spread his arms wide. O'Neill rolled his eyes, but then repeated the gesture and word.

"O'Neill! It is wonderful to see you again!"

"Hello, Harlan. How's it going?"

"Fine, O'Neill. Fine!" Harlan looked around, saw Sam, Teal'c and Dr. Jackson and went to greet each of them in turn. Introductions were made with the Global Dynamics people and then Harlan started off to the new shipbuilding productions. On the way, he pointed out different pieces of machinery. The most recognizable to the GD teams were the crates of GD equipment.

"So this is where the equipment for the prototype Photologic Processor went?" Henry asked astounded. It was a brand new breakthrough that he and Zane made by merging the Logic Diamond core of GD and Jacks phototonic processor. The first prototype showed a four hundred percent increase in calculations per nanosecond.

"Thats right. The Core will be running the entire facility in a few weeks." Captain Walter Harriman said walking up to the group. "Generals, Doctors, Colonels, Ma'am, Sir's."

"Walter." General O'Neill said shaking the hand of Altair's chief engineer. "How goes the refit?"

"Very good sir. We're working on refitting the facilities geothermal power core using the designs that Doctor Zelenka found in the Atlantis Database. Once that's done, the facility will have the power to run the photologic core."

"Excellent. How is the rest of the facility?"

"Well, Harlan has shown us the original schematics and we are working on refitting the base to the original layout. Then we will start the heavy duty lifting bots on expanding the facility.

"Great. Now let's go see the hanger."

Jack quietly commented to his sister, "I thought you were in charge here."

Sam laughed. "It's Harlan's place, but he'll let us remain in charge of our own people. And he's letting me show you around the shipyards."

As if in response to what Sam said, Harlan stopped in front of a large door. He beamed at the group. "And now, I'll let Dr. Carter take over. This is quite impressive, and they're in her purview."

Sam walked to the front of the group and pushed a button beside the door. The door slid open and they were looking down into a vast bay, almost two miles across. Massive ships sat cradled in even more massive gantries. The group walked forward onto a balcony. Fargo was intrigued with the ships being built. "They look like the Astraeus!"

"They're much bigger though," Grace commented.

Fargo looked around for a staircase. It was obvious that he wanted to get an up close look at the ships. He didn't see one, but as he started to ask Dr. Carter where it was he noticed that the ships seemed larger. He also was starting to feel a breeze on his face. The balcony was moving closer to the nearest of the ships, and picking up speed.

"These ships are the GD-305s," Sam said. "Five are in production now. The class will be called Astraeus."

Grace asked, "What are the ships names?"

"At the moment, they're unnamed. That will be up to Global Dynamics."

Jack took a deep breath and let it out. Then he said, "One should be called the Nathan Stark."

Henry looked at Jack with raised eyebrows. Then he saw Jacks face and the determination there. He nodded his approval and said, "I agree. That's a great idea."

Allison looked over at her husband with a grateful look on her face. "Thanks Jack," she said. "That's really sweet of you."

"Yeah... well... his ego would probably say that wasn't enough to just name a ship after him."

Allison laughed. "You're probably right, Jack. But it's the thought that counts anyway."

Jack, while not saying it, thought that nothing he ever did counted to Nathan.

He heard a laugh in his mind and realized that he had projected a thought to Sam unwittingly again. "But that's not true, Jack. You told me Nathan asked you to look after Ally when he died. Apparently he knew you could and would do that. That counted with him big time."

Jack nodded and thought about what Sam had said. It was true, he supposed. He was even looking after Stark's daughter as if she was his own.

The group had come close to the first of the ships and the platform was circling the ship. General Carter explained what had been done with the basic Astraeus design to turn it into the 305.

"Each ship is five times larger than one of our BC-304s. We have placed several weapons on each wingtip, facing fore and aft. We have installed an Asgard hyperdrive for now, but we would like Drs. Fargo and Deacon to review the design specifications and see if they have any ideas. I know Astraeus has a good engine that you planned on using when you arrived at Titan. Perhaps a variation of that engine might work here." The platform now stopped at what was clearly an airlock. The door slid into a recess, and then to the right while the railing retracted into the floor of the platform. General Carter led the way into the ship.

As they walked through the hallway they saw the silver gray colors used in the American Navy. Sam led the way into the Bridge where she stopped at a table and pressed a few buttons activating a hologram displaying the Astraeus Class. As they watched, she typed a few things and a name appeared on the hull of the ship.

"This is the Nathan Stark. She is 1125 meters long, 475 wide and 375 high. The lower hanger bay is a cross between a cargo bay or a hangar bay for 302's, Drone Fighters, or even a 304." Sam then spun the hologram and focused on the wings. "On each wing there are six different energy guns. On the top and bottom are two Asgard Plasma Beams (APB), two GD Molecular Bond Disrupters (MBD), and two Antimatter Core Rail Guns (ACR).

"The nose has Dr. Thatcher's Irradiated Uranium Particle cannon. It is a fixed gun, but the Astraeus class is very maneuverable using the Gravity Engine developed a few years ago by GD. For those of you not in the know, S.A.R.A.H. developed the gravity drive to take advantage of Dark Matter. It selectively increases or decreases gravity before or behind the ship, depending on which is necessary."

Jack did a double take at his sister. "You mean my house designed the engines for this ship?"

Sam smiled and nodded as she went on. "Some of them. Lastly there are twelve VIPER fixtures stationed around the ship. These are placed two on the top and bottom of each wing, two on the top, and two on the bottom main hull. For those not in the know, the VIPER is a hybrid kinetic and energy weapon. It was designed by GD a few years ago.."

"Now for the internal ship systems." The hologram changed again showing the insides of the ship. "There are several science labs and research areas. But they are minimal since this is a warship. However, in peace time, the main hanger could be converted to science use with a minimum of modifications.

"These" Sam pointed out dozens of small ports on the hull. "are launch tubes for Drone Fighters. The 305 carries 1,000 of the Drones developed for GD by Doctor Edison."

"Martha?" Jack asked his sister incredulously.

"Yes they are based on the design of Martha. However they aren't sentient like she is. That one surprised us. We weren't aware of that aspect of her. The drones have been modified to work in space, and the weapons have been increased in power thanks to the liquid naquadah power cell."

"How are they controlled?" Dr. Fargo asked.

"They can work independently or they can be controlled by the ships computers or a control chair. The drones are highly intelligent. They always work in quartets. Instead of giving individual drones an assignment, orders are given to a quartet, and the drones select their own targets and plan their own strategies and tactics. This also has the benefit of redundancy. If one drone is taken out (something I assure you is not easy, but possible) three others are there to take up the slack."

"Do the fighters work with the F-302's." John shepherd asked Sam. He had previously tested the ability of the control chair to control the drone fighters.

"Yes they can. They can work very well as wingmen. I tested the system on the Odyssey. Each 302 has four D-Fighters as wingmen to provide support." John and Cam both loved the idea of a 302 having D-Fighters as wingmen. John was impatiently waiting for the Daedalus to have the systems installed. He was dreaming of using the D-Fighters against Wraith Darts. Rodney however doubted the plan.

"How will you run all of these drones. The computers on the 304s can't run that many drones. I know. I helped design them."

"I know that, Rodney. That's why the computers are two of GDs photologic processor cores. Both working in conjunction at less than an estimated twenty five percent of their total ability during combat." Sam was looking at Rodney who nodded agreeing that the new processor would work.

"Lastly the ship is powered by an Lantean Powercore using a superheavy element for fuel. We recently discovered how to synthesize the element. It is forty percent more powerful than an Asgard Neutrino Ion Generator. And thanks to our raid of Asura, several years ago, we have been able to reverse engineer the entire generator. And because of the greater power we can build Lantean Conformal shields used on the Aurora class.

Suddenly, a signal sounded. Sam reached over and pressed a button on the table. "This is Vala. Permission to come aboard?"

Sam smiled and answered. "Permission granted."

A moment later, in a corner of the room, the air shimmered and a dark haired woman materialized. She walked to Dr. Jackson's side, and whispered in his hear. Jackson caught the attention of O'Neill. The General excused them and they left the room. Teal'c and Sam exchanged looks. This was not good.

The three left the bridge and went to a small briefing room off the to one side.

"What is it, Vala?"

"General. I've been asked by Chekov to tell you about some intelligence from the Tok'Ra. It appears as though the Ashen are on the move. There are rumors of them planning an attack on Earth. Apparently, they are trying a different tactic since their normal 'modus operandi' didn't work with Earth."

"Is there any idea what they're trying?" O'Neill asked.

"No, Sir. There's not."

O'Neill stood motionless for a moment, looking at the floor. Finally he looked up at Vala. "That's not much to go on," he said to her.

"No, it's not. But General Chekov thought you should know."

"Thank you, Vala. I appreciate it." O'Neill stood up and headed toward the door. He stopped at the door and looked back at Vala and Jackson. Neither had made any move to follow, so O'Neill simply said, "See ya, kids" and left the room.

Jackson watched Vala for a moment. He knew what was coming. It had become a dance that they went through regularly.

But it didn't come. She was looking towards the floor. Suddenly, she turned away, and stood, shoulders heaving. He realized she was crying. "Vala?" his voice was very soft. She continued to shudder for several moments and he didn't interrupt again. Finally, the shudders slowed and he spoke her name again. "Vala? What's wrong?"

She slowly turned to face him. "It never ends, Daniel. Just one battle after another. One war after another. I'm tired of it, I guess."

He reached out and put his arms around her, drawing her close to him. "I am too, Vala. I wish things would change. Maybe they will, now that we're getting Global Dynamic's direct help."

She pushed back from him a bit and looked directly into his eyes. "There's one thing we could change, Daniel. We could get married." She was teasing, but there was a wish that he would agree.

"Ok," he said simply.

She was prepared for his normal decline of her offer, and it took her a moment to realize what he said. "Did you say 'Ok?'"

"Yes."

"To my suggestion that we get married?"

"Yes, I did."

She paused for a moment. She had been prepared for resuming their normal dance of her teasing him, and him pretending to be uncomfortable. She decided that it was a new tack he was taking. "So should it be a big wedding or a small one? We should invite all of our friends, the President… Who else?"

"I'm serious, Vala."

"So am I," she went on brightly, hardly missing a beat. "What about Jonas? The Nox…." She stopped and the smile left her face. She looked puzzled. "What's going on, Daniel?"

"We've been through so much together and I just realized that I love you and would like to spend the rest of my life with you."

She wasn't sure what to say to this. "Daniel, I'm the one who teases you, not the other way around."

"I'm not teasing you, Vala. I'm being honest."

He suddenly realized that Vala had been trying to compensate for a lack of self-worth for a very long time, and he wasn't really sure how to deal with that. He figured the only thing he could do was open up and pray he wouldn't regret it.

"Listen, Vala. When I lost Sha're, I didn't think I could ever love a woman again. It took a long time for me to come to the place where I can look at someone else without feeling guilty. No one can replace Sha're, but no one has to. I had to figure that out for myself. You're a completely different woman than her, and that's a good thing. It helped me to realize that to love you wouldn't be betraying her.

"What I'm saying, Vala, is that I've come to the place where I can say, 'Yes. I'll marry you.'"

She was cautious. "You're not teasing me?"

"No. I'm being completely serious. I want to marry you."

She moved into his arms then. It was the answer she wanted, finally.

When they re-entered the bridge, Rodney and Sam were explaining some of the controls to Henry and Fargo. Zane was listening intently, and when they finished with a particular screen, he made a few suggestions that Rodney scoffed at. Sam, on the other hand, listened hard, and wrote down some notes on what he was saying.

On the other side of the bridge, Teyla and Ronan were explaining something about the Wraith to Jo and Jack. In the center of the room the three doctors were talking about some of the improvements made by GD that had recently been released to the world in general. The rest of the group were distributed listening in on the conversations, and injecting a point here and there.

O'Neill was listening to Zane's suggestions, which were really quite good, and Rodney was being his usual arrogant self by not thinking before he scoffed. O'Neill noticed that Sam had filled two pages with notes and asked about ten different questions. Zane had answered each question, and Sam had written down his answers, almost word for word.

Then, O'Neill noticed that Daniel and Vala had walked in, and uncharacteristically, he had his arm around her shoulders. O'Neill decided to go over and investigate. Daniel was smiling at something Vala saying, and for her part, Vala was beaming. O'Neill had an idea of what had just happened in the briefing room, and he figured it was high time Daniel realized he had a good thing going, and that he needed to act on it. Personally, Vala wasn't his type, but Daniel really loved her.

"Hi kids. Do I take it congratulations are in order?"

Jackson looked shocked at O'Neill's words. "How did you know?"

"Because you would never put your arm around her unless you had come to some sort of mutual understanding about your relationship."

Jackson looked embarrassed, but didn't remove his arm from her. "I guess you're right. Yeah. She asked, and I said yes."

O'Neill nodded. He really wasn't surprised. Not that he would have seen the feelings between them if Sam hadn't pointed it out. Right before pointing out to him that she wasn't under his command anymore and that it was ridiculous to pretend there wasn't anything between them. O'Neill had seen her point, and had proposed to her the next day. Why waste time?

Now, it looked like Jackson and Vala had finally stopped their games. In a way it was too bad. It was fun to watch. Vala had a habit of saying things to Daniel in public that made him extremely uncomfortable. But, knowing Vala, she wouldn't stop that just because they were married. "Who knows," O'Neill thought. "She just might increase it."

He sincerely hoped so.

In the main conference room of Altair. Rodney McKay was looking at his orders. O'Neill had given them to him earlier that morning. In a way this was a dream job for him, but at the same time it was a nightmare. The IOA had recently come to an agreement with the leaders of the planet Eldred in Pegasus. In exchange for Earth building a city, and giving them instructions on how to expand the city, the people of the planet would vacate the Lantean City Ship, Borealis.

McKay wasn't sure what he thought of this. There were lots of things that would need done in the city ship. There were massive amounts of damage. While the superstructure itself was intact, there would be repairs to the towers and tunnels that would need to be made. There were systems that would need to be repaired if the ship were to fly again. And that's what the IOA wanted. Another functioning city ship. McKay would definitely have his work cut out for him. At least the IOA was allowing him to hand pick his own team.

Chuck Campbell would be asked to be his second in command. After working on the control systems of Atlantis for so long Rodney believed that he would be a good choice since he couldn't have Radek Zelenka. And, of course, his wife would be asked to go along as his chief medical officer.

He had several more ideas as to who would be accompanying him to the Pegasus galaxy, and he mentally checked off who would be essential, and who would be expendable if they couldn't or wouldn't agree to join the expedition. Perhaps some of the Global Dynamics people would be of use.

It suddenly occurred to him, that he should ask Zane Donovan if his construction mites might not be of use in this case. Then, he realized that he had pretty well alienated the young genius. It was something completely foreign to him, but McKay realized he would have to apologize to Dr. Donovan. Besides, he had seen Samantha Carter writing down things that Donovan was saying. Carter was one of the few people that he admitted was on his level, intellectually, and if she was so interested, perhaps he should go back over what Donovan had been saying.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Authors would like to stress that they do own neither Stargate in any of it's flavors, nor Eureka. If they did, this story would be Canon. :-D
> 
> Please review!

Douglas Fargo had gone away from the tour of GD, absolutely thrilled. O'Neill had said that they wanted him to help with the Altair built Astraeus Class ships. He was concerned, however, because much as they said they wanted Holly Marten on the team as well, they hadn't asked for her specifically. She might not want to give up her job at Colson Industries.

His fears were somewhat justified. Holly was very hesitant to leave Colson, as she was one of the senior researchers. Fargo almost changed his mind, but when Alec Colson saw the hesitation in him, he stepped in.

Holly and Fargo were sitting in Colson's office. It was strange to be sitting there without Colson, himself in the room, but his secretary had hurriedly shown them in when they arrived for the nine o'clock meeting. It was now a quarter past, and Colson still had not arrived. Holly was concerned. "What if he doesn't like my work? I haven't been here very long. Maybe he's going to fire me. Maybe…."

Fargo was spared from answering, by the door to the office opening, and Colson striding in. He sat down and said, "Good morning. Sorry for being late."

"That's ok, Mr. Colson. Whatever the problem is, I'm sure we can fix…" she stopped as he waved her off.

"You're not in trouble, Holly. In fact, your work has been exemplary. So much so, that I'm placing you and Doug on a special project."

"Special project?" Fargo asked. "But Sir, I gave my notice. As a matter of fact, you were there when General O'Neill asked me to help out at the Altair site. I won't be here after tomorrow, Sir."

"I realize that, Dr. Fargo," Colson said. "And I also know that they want Dr. Marten there as well. Far more than they let on, as a matter of fact. I spoke with General Carter, after she said they would love to have her. She told me that 'love to have her' was an understatement."

"Oh!" was all Holly could say.

"The fact of the matter is that the GD-305 ships will have the Colson Industries name on their engines. That means there needs to be some Colson Industries people there, when they're being built. Now, I've told General Carter that you two will remain on my payroll, but that you will be subject to the chain of command at Global Dynamics. My understanding is that the Earth Stargate will be placed in Section 5 of GD. Therefore, this will be officially a Section 5 project. It will be under Dr. Donovan's purview, but on Altair, General Carter is in charge. Dr. Donovan, himself will be following her orders while on Altair." He looked at Fargo closely for a few moments.

"Doug," he said. "I realize that this puts you considerably down the totem pole at the facility where you used to be in charge. Will you be okay with this?"

"Sir, I'm fine with it," he said quickly. "I'm going to be working on another planet. How many people can say that?"

"Good. Now, what do you say, Dr. Marten?" He asked Holly.

"I don't know what to say, Mr. Colson. Except, thank you! I wanted to go, but I kept thinking that my job was too important to lose. Now, I don't have to lose it!"

Colson smiled, and shook both of their hands. "You are now freed from your current projects, and are to report to Global Dynamics in a week's time. As an added bonus, you will both be receiving substantial pay increases."

It was one of the rare instances where Dr. Holly Marten was speechless.

It was Samantha Carter's first day, with the new Stargate arrangement. Since she was working incognito, through GD, she had chosen to come in to GD in civilian clothing, so was wearing a light blue skirt and blazer over a white blouse.

Before she went to Altair, she would be meeting with Henry who, along with Zane, was going to be accompanying her today. Outside, Henry's office, she stopped at the desk of Larry Haberman, Henry's administrative assistant. He had been Douglas Fargo's assistant while he was the CEO of GD, and it had been easiest to simply let him retain the job with Henry.

"Good morning. Can I help you?" Larry said when she arrived.

"I'm waiting to speak to Dr. Deacon," she told him.

"I'm sorry," Larry said, officiously. "Dr. Deacon has scheduled the day out of his office today. I'm afraid he won't be able to meet with you."

"Yes," Sam told him. "I'm going with him. I'm General Samantha Carter." She fingered her name badge at him, and his eyes almost popped out of his head.

Larry seemed torn between running, fainting, screaming, and saluting as he realized he had stepped in it. He finally settled on saying, "Yes, Ma'am" in a trembling, high pitched voice.

Again, he didn't seem to know what to do. This guy is too much, Sam thought. I'm surprised Henry keeps him on. To Larry, she said, "You want to let Dr. Deacon know I'm here?"

Suddenly, Larry was a flurry of movement, and he squeaked "Yes… Right… I will, Ma'am."

He disappeared for a moment, then appeared. "He's in his office, Ma'am." He visibly gulped, then "You can go right in."

"Thank you," Sam said much more graciously than she felt.

She entered Henry's office, and to her surprise, found her brother sitting there, talking with Henry.

"Wow!" Jack exclaimed when he saw her. "You look great, Sis."

"Thanks, Jack. No offense, but what are you doing here?" she asked him.

"I'm going with you today as well as Henry and Zane. Research for disclosure. Jack, Daniel, and I have been talking to the President about it. Since we're likely to be in a war with the Ori within a few years, it might be good to have the Stargate Program generally known. That would give us access to all of Earth's manpower. I'm researching our capabilities, so I need to talk to you two and Zane regarding the 305s."

She nodded at that and said, "I see." She held his gaze for a bit, and he heard in his mind, And how do you feel about disclosure, personally, Jack?

The thought came back. No comment.

Her eyebrows went up for a moment, then she took the seat that Henry had offered when she first came into the room.

Henry said to her, "Good morning. I guess under the circumstances, I should call you, Dr. Carter."

"That's liable to get confusing," Jack said, wryly.

"Well," Sam commented. "At least Zoe's not here right now."

"That's true," Henry laughed. "So, how does it feel to be a 'civilian' again, General?"

She laughed. "It's pretty interesting. Of course, I'm not really a civilian, but as far as most people here at GD are concerned, I'm no longer in uniform. Once Zane gets here, I'll go over this again, but I'll fill you in. While we're here, I'll be under you and Zane in the chain of command. Once we get to Altair, I will ultimately be the one responsible, but I plan on turning you and Zane loose, as long as you keep me in the loop. This is going to be one of the most mixed up operations I've ever worked in, because the ships will be under the label of Colson Aerospace. Therefore, once Holly Marten gets here, she will be the head of that division of Global. So while the Altair shipyards are mine, Holly will be in charge of that division at Colson. Right now, the military doesn't have any other labels going on any ships being built at Altair, so Holly and I will work somewhat jointly. If we were to branch out, I would be in overall charge of the shipyards, and Holly will have the GD slash Colson part of it. Eventually, my job, and hers, may very well become more administrative, but I'm hoping to get my hands just as dirty as you do, Henry."

Jack snickered at her statement, and Henry raised his eyebrows. Sam looked at her attire, and started laughing too. "I guess dressed like this, I'd better not get them too dirty, or I'll be single handedly financing the local cleaners."

At that moment, Zane was ushered in by Larry. The three got up and headed for the elevator. Sam explained the chain of command at the Altair site as they descended to level five.

Two days later, Holly and Fargo arrived at Eureka. They had a choice of taking Fargo's old house, which was adjoining Seth Osbourne's property, or taking rooms in Atlantis. Given that Osbourne still liked playing music at high volume in the middle of the night, they chose to live in Atlantis. However, because of the privatization of Eureka, Fargo still retained ownership of his house.

Their quarters were nice, in the section reserved for city administrators and higher officials. Those in the Stargate team who went offworld regularly, resided there as well. This was not simply because of the convenience and poshness of an 'Atlantis Tower Address', but because it reduced the talk that might be caused by a sudden influx of military faces in Eureka.

They finished unpacking in the afternoon and decided to take a walk. They were meandering through the city, which was slowly blossoming with ideas for businesses. There was a general wistfulness about the place. People were talking about the possibilities of Disclosure, and what it might mean for Atlantis. On the west pier, they found a familiar face. Vincent was having lunch with Mr. Woolsey, the mayor.

"Vincent! What are you doing here?" Fargo asked.

"Mr. Woolsey and I have been discussing using Virtual Vincent to bring a touch of class to the Mess Hall. Oh, I hate that term," Vince said, shuddering.

Woolsey nodded, "Yes. We're hoping that Disclosure occurs, and if it does, we'll be able to have a high class dining area here. However, if it doesn't, Virtual Vincent can still bring a touch of class to the mess area."

Fargo and Holly stepped into Henry's office at Global Dynamics. He ushered them into plush chairs, across from him, and they sat. Henry looked appraisingly at both of them. After a long moment, he said, "I've been in touch with Alec Colson. It seems that Holly will continue working for the Colson part of Global. For you, Doug, we have another idea, if you find it agreeable."

"What's that," Fargo asked, somewhat taken aback. As far as he knew, he was going to continue working for Colson, and now finding that subject to change, had him a bit skittish.

"It seems that the owners have talked, and they find this solution a bit equitable." He pause a moment, to phrase this the right way, then went on. "If we were to go with the chain of command intact, here at GD, you would simply be a worker on the Altair project, Doug."

"That's fine," Fargo said. "I don't mind that at all."

"I know you don't," Henry agreed. "And that maturity is one of the reasons the owners are willing to do this. You, Doug, are to be made the deputy director of Global Dynamics." He paused to let his words sink in. "If you are willing, that is."

Suddenly, Fargo's reserve disappeared, and his demeaner went through shock, then settled around pleased surprise. "Really?" he burst out. "Deputy director? That's cool!"

Holly gave him a huge hug. "Dougie! I'm so proud of you!"

Henry was smiling. "I take it that's a yes then?"

Fargo almost gasped, "Of course!"

Henry laughed, then went on. "Global Dynamics did very well under your leadership, Doug. No one's going to deny that." He stood up and held out his hand to Fargo, then to Holly. "Welcome back, both of you."

Fargo was aboard the Nathan Stark working on the engines. They had launched the ship three days ago, and had done a power up of her engines. That was a disaster. The control systems for the gravity drive worked fine and the drive itself worked, but not effectively enough. An engine that took forty-five minutes to achieve a speed of ten kilometers per hour, just wasn't what they were looking for. Fargo had disassembled the engines and gone through them with a fine toothed comb. Now, the shakedown cruise was supposed to be happening in four days, but if the engine didn't work, well then, what was the point?

Colonel John Sheppard walked into the engine room as Fargo was letting off a string of swear words. He appeared to be only a pair of legs sticking out from under a control console. Sheppard stopped and listened. The words sounded remarkably like something Hermiod would say, interspersed with 'Frak' and 'Felgercarb'.

Sheppard chuckled, and knealt down so he could see inside the console, where, presumably, the upper half of Fargo's body was. He waited for the string of profanity to stop, then addressed the scientist. "Dr. Fargo?"

There was a muffled thud, a description of a 'golmonging' wrench, then "What!?"

"Dr. Fargo, it's Colonel Sheppard."

"I'm kinda busy right now. Can you come back later?"

"So I gathered. I was just wanting a status update." He gritted his teeth, waiting for more of the pseudo profanity, but it didn't come. Instead, the legs started trying to get purchase on the floor, and the rest of Fargo became visible.

"It doesn't work yet. There's your status update," Fargo told him through gritted teeth. He then started working his body back into the console.

"Any idea how long?" Sheppard backed up a bit to get out of the reach of the mad scientist he fully expected to erupt from the hole.

Instead of erupting out, all movement in the legs, which were all that was visible again, ceased. Then a muffled, "Are you serious?" came weakly from somewhere under the console.

Sheppard started to stand up. "Maybe I should come back later," he said.

"Hang on a moment," Fargo said as the legs started pulling the rest of the body from the hole again.

This time, he stood up and faced the Colonel. "Sir, I know you're looking forward to taking command of this ship for the shakedown cruise. But you've got to understand. I don't know what is wrong with the drive. It should work, and a lot better than what we've seen. I suspect that there's a flaw in the software, but before I can say that definitely, I want to make absolutely sure that there isn't a physical problem. If these engines don't work flawlessly, two things can happen. One, we don't accelerate as fast as we should. Two…. Well. Have you ever heard what happens inside a singularity?"

Sheppard didn't say anything as the doctor got back under the console. He didn't have to. The description was very… descriptive.

Despite Fargo's dire predictions, the drive was ready for testing on schedule. Sheppard was waiting in his command chair, ready to give the order. Finally, Fargo's voice came over the comm. "We're ready down here." Right before the comm went dead, Sheppard heard a very quiet, "I hope," from Fargo.

"Gravity drives on, one eighth power. Bearing, ahead."

Suddenly, there was the sensation of falling, and the ship accelerated forward. "Sorry about that, Bridge," came Fargo's voice. "Just need to tweak the counter force settings. Next time we change bearings, it shouldn't feel like we jumped off a building."

"Good," Sheppard said. It had been all he could do to keep his breakfast down on that initial acceleration. What was worse, the sensation had been that he was strapped in, facing straight down. It was like some demented amusement park ride. "Are you ready for maneuvering down there?" he asked. If Fargo couldn't counter the sensation of gravity, this shakedown cruise was about to put every roller coaster he'd ever ridden on as a child to shame. Every combat maneuver he'd ever made would seem like childs play.

Fargo made a final entry into a data file. Then, he typed, 'sudo service counterfd restart'. Hesitantly, he pressed the enter key, and the sensation of falling disappeared. He gave a huge sigh of relief. "We should be good to go, Colonel," he said through the comm.

Sheppard tightened his straps in the command chair, then ordered. "Right turn, five degrees." The stars on the screen shifted, but he felt nothing. "Left turn, fifteen degrees." Again, the screen shifted, but no sensation. "All Stop. Reverse Course, one quarter speed." The screen showed a dizzying blur of stars as the ship swung around and accelerated, but for all the sensation Sheppard felt, he could have been sitting in Altair's rec room, watching 'Star Wars' with Teal'c.

Next, Sheppard ordered the ship on an eliptical course that would take them, eventually to Earth. The hyperdrives were kicked in, and the ship shot forward.

Once the Nathan Stark arrived at Earth, Sheppard was called to Zane Donovan's office in Section Five of GD. When he arrived, he found Samantha Carter and Holly Marten waiting for him there.

"How did the cruise go?" Sam asked.

"It was great," Sheppard exclaimed. "Fargo worked out the problems with the gravity drive, and then the ship worked without a hitch. It flies as smooth as glass. Not even any sensation of movement. We blew several of the Area 51 ships' speed records away."

"That sounds great," Sam said. "So how do you forsee the GD-305 ships working out in our arsenal?"

Sheppard thought for a couple of moments. "General. There's really no way of knowing until we get one into combat, but from what I've seen, I think it will be a great asset."

"Well, Colonel. You've just become our senior commander for the GD-305s, so I have another question for you. How would you like to test fly each of the ships? The Nathan Stark is yours, but you are now the expert on how these ships fly."

"So not the shakedown cruise on each, but the test flight? And after each test flight, I'm back in my own ship?" Sheppard wanted to make sure he understood what he was being asked.

"That's right," Sam said.

"On one condition," Sheppard said.

Sam was a bit taken aback by this. "And what would that be?" she asked.

"I want Fargo in the engine room each time." Sheppard looked at Holly, then back at Sam. "He's a top notch engineer, with some great instincts."

General Carter slowly nodded her head. "Alright, Colonel. We can do that." She looked at Holly, who was beaming. No one had to tell her how good an engineer her man was. She knew, but it was nice to hear it from other people.

A couple of weeks after the first of the GD-305s rolled off the line, Jackson and Vala's wedding date arrived. Jack O'Neill stood in for his friend, and Sam for Vala. In an interesting twist, O'Neill and Sam also tied the knot on the same day. O'Neill had acquired the marriage license, and simply not told anyone, including Sam that he had bought it. He had had a ring made for her, and that morning, he told Jackson what he intended to do. Once Jackson and Vala got back to the entrance of the church after their ceremony, he would ask Sam to walk up to the minister with him. Eureka's minister, Reverend Harper, was asked to please wait, as there could very well be another ceremony.

She did, and there was.

Vala was absolutely thrilled that she got to stand up for Sam as well.

The only one even slightly upset was Jack Carter, as he had not been present. It was a small ceremony, just including witnesses for both couples. However, if there was someone for his sister, he had to admit that Jack O'Neill was that someone. After the initial shock, he welcomed his new brother-in-law with open arms.

Henry, Zane, Fargo, and McKay had succeeded in building a working hyperdrive, based on the Asgard model, but completely Earth tech. As they were not restricted in their thinking by several millennia of stagnation of imagination, they were able to think outside the box where the Asgard weren't. The second GD-305, the Kim Anderson was fitted with the prototype GD hyperdrive, and to Samantha O'Neill's surprise, Henry and Grace had been working on a powercore that used the same superheavy fuel as the Nathan Stark but with an entirely Earth tech base. It surpassed the Lantean core's power output by twelve and a half percent.

Zane predicted that the Earth Tech hyperdrive would have a greater speed than the Asgard drive as well. Hermiod, the Asgard who had worked on Daedalus, was working on the Altair computers, and saw Zane's predictions. He assured Zane that the hyperdrive would not achieve the fifteen percent increase in speed that was predicted. However, he said very little when it actually achieved seventeen percent on the shakedown cruise of the Kim Anderson. That seventeen percent allowed the remaining speed records set by the Area 51 ships to be blown out of the water.

Three more GD-305s were finished, each one with a name honoring a Eureka scientist who had paid the ultimate price for science. The Carl Carlson, the Pierre Fargo, and the Jimmy Perkins were all commissioned and performed admirably, each adding to the legend that was quickly forming around the Global Dynamics built ships. Both Douglas Fargo and Eva Thorne were shocked but thrilled to see their loved ones honored with having a ship named after them. There were some at Global Dynamics who argued that the Astraeus class of ship was a warship and therefore should not be named after scientists, but Henry Deacon pointed out that the whole point of Eureka and Global Dynamics was the betterment of mankind. Something dedicated to saving mankind from extinction definitely fit into that category. Those who had argued were silenced by such logic.

In August of that year, the American Vice President had a fatal heart attack, and shortly afterward, the President, a friend of O'Neill, Jackson, and Jack Carter was in a meeting with the three, regarding disclosure. At the end of the meeting, the President asked Daniel to speak to him privately after the other two men left.

The door closed, and Daniel asked, "So what's up, Mark?" Mark Gilmor had been a friend for several years, even though his initial introduction to SG1 had been a less than stellar meeting. He had been a CIA operative who had been ordered to spy on O'Neill to see if he was cut out to be the head of Stargate Command.

Gilmor sat down at his desk, and looked appraisingly at Jackson. "Daniel," he finally said. "I've got a request for you."

Jackson nodded. It occurred to him that the president was being somewhat cagey. "You know, the last request that was made of me ended up getting me married."

"Not to worry, Daniel. I'm not proposing marriage to you. But I am proposing that you come on board as my Vice President."

"What?" Daniel said simply.

"I've got two more years of this term, and I'm able to run again. I really can't think of anyone better qualified in the situation in which we find ourselves. I need someone to complete at least this term with me, and I'd rather it be you."

Daniel was shaking his head. "I'd only be a good choice if you were planning on disclosure. You haven't made that decision yet. In fact, from what you've said today, you seem to be leaning the other way. So I'm asking, why me?"

Gilmor nodded. "Yes, you'd be a very good choice if I were to decide on disclosure, however, you are an equally good choice if I decide against it. If I decide against it, the country still has the same problems with the Ori looming on the horizon. The difference is that we are not facing those problems publically. Therefore, you are still a good choice."

Jackson again shook his head. "No, Mark, I'm not. If you appoint me vice president, you will have to contend with the same people who thought I was a crackpot for my theories regarding ancient Egypt."

"Yes, we will, but think about it, Daniel. We will have to make disclosure at some point. I'd rather you be on my team when that time comes. You know what is going on with the Stargate much more than I do. It's better for the country to have you as VP rather than some joker who doesn't have a clue."

"And if we don't make disclosure before this term is up? Then your chances of being re-elected with me on the ticket with you are slim to none."

"That, my friend, depends on how well I do in the remaining two years, doesn't it?

Jackson slowly nodded. Then, he told the President. "Give me till the end of the week to make a decision, okay?"

Gilmor agreed, and Jackson stood and left the Oval Office. Outside, he found his two other friends waiting for him.

"What's up?" O'Neill asked.

"I'll tell you on the way back to Atlantis," Jackson said.

"I just don't think I want to be such a public person. Everyone will be watching our every move," Jackson said to Vala, that night. They had been living in Atlantis for several months, and were standing on a balcony overlooking Eureka. The city was not usually visible from the lake, but Atlantis stood far enough out of the water that the town could be seen from it's higher towers. Especially at night, as it soon would be.

"You really think so? How much have you observed the vice president in the past few years, Daniel?"

"Well, I…. Uh…. Ok. I get your point."

Vala looked her husband in the eye and said. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for you, Daniel. You know the president is leaning towards disclosure. By being so close to him, you could probably convince him."

"It's not just the president, Vala. It's also Sheriff Carter. You know anything regarding public disclosure has to go through him as well. He's carefully remained neutral in all of our talks, arguing both sides. I'm really not sure what he thinks about disclosure."

"How does Jack O'Neill feel?"

"He thinks we can't keep the secret much longer."

"Then I think Sheriff Carter will feel the same way."

Jackson eyed Vala, trying to figure this revelation out. "How do you figure?"

"General O'Neill and Sam are married." He nodded, wondering where this was going. "They usually feel the same way on this type of thing, right?" Again, he nodded. "Right now, it's a pretty hot topic among the people of GD and SGC."

"And you think that since they're twins, they'll feel the same way?"

"No, dear. I think that since they are able to communicate telepathically, they'll have 'discussed' such a hot topic."

Jackson's head suddenly snapped from facing the lights of Eureka to looking at his wife. "You know, you probably have something there." He thought for a moment. "But I wouldn't feel right about using my knowledge of their communication like that. When the Sheriff is ready to talk about it, he will."

Vala shook her head. "Daniel, does it really matter what you know about their telepathic communication? You know the secret can't be kept, just like General O'Neill knows it. So the president must be convinced before disclosure is made accidently. Disclosure would be an embarrassment then. That needs to be avoided. You can help convince him."

Daniel nodded. He agreed with her, but he wasn't sure he was going to like being so well known. However once disclosure came, he knew that he would be vindicated to his former colleagues. That would be gratifying.

They watched as the sun set, and the town moved into shadows, then darkness. It was quite pretty all lit up. When the night started to get cold, they went in.

The next morning, Jackson walked to the gateroom, stopped in to see Mr. Woolsey to tell him of his decision, then O'Neill personally flew Daniel to Washington DC in a jumper.

One week later, on the senate floor, Daniel Jackson was sworn in as Vice President of the United States. Those who had served with him in the Air Force, and at Global Dynamics were watching from the public seats in the balcony. After he was sworn in, he travelled back to Eureka to move himself and Vala to Washington DC.

It took little time to pack as he and Vala had decided to maintain their residence in Atlantis as well as one in Washington DC. They packed clothes, but aside from a few personal effects, there was little they needed to take with them.

Daniel and Vala climbed into the jumper and O'Neill took off. As they flew, everything was calm over the Earth. The Atlantis deep space sensors were at full power scanning the lower levels of hyperspace where Goa'uld hyperdrives worked. This had the side effect of limiting the effectiveness of the hyperspace sensors in the higher frequencies where Asgard and Alterran hyperdrives functioned, but it was considered to be a reasonable trade-off. This was a mistake that would be responsible for one of the greatest disasters in Earth history.


	6. Chapter 6

In orbit 300 Aschen ships dropped out of Hyperspace. No one cared when it happened but the Aschen managed to modify their hyperdrives to work in a much higher level of hyperspace and to disrupt their hyperspace signature preventing their ships from being detected.

Once they arrived the automated systems on their ships caused the BC-304 and GD-305 shields to activate. The interceptor systems immediately fired on the Aschen weapon blasts stopping them from impacting the Earth ships.

On Earth deep in Atlantis Carson Beckett sat in the control chair. Since the Tok'ra had alerted Earth about a possible attack, someone with the ATA gene had been in the chair room 24 hours a day. When the attack came, Carson was able to fire back in just a few seconds. Very quickly drones were firing from Atlantis and Antarctica. In the control room the GD planetary defense system was activated. In the middle of Main Street in Eureka the Irradiated Uranium Particle Cannon, or IUPC, rose out of the ground and fired into space. The beam was aimed at a specially built satellite that used a series of mirrors that reflected the beam at the Aschen ships. Since its rediscovery the Beam was heavily modified and upgraded making the beam far more powerful.

In space, the Aschen ships were maneuvering and fired at the small Earth fleet. Already the unarmed communication satellites in orbit of Earth had been shot down. Panic spread across Earth as worldwide communication collapsed. The Aschen ships far outnumbered the Earth fleet, and were able to fire through the defensive lines, hitting the planet. Already Tokyo, Shanghai, New York, London, and Beijing were in flames.

However, they paid a heavy price to destroy these cities. The drones were ripping massive holes through the Aschen ships. 60 ships were already destroyed. Meanwhile the secondary IUPCs were firing their beams to the moon where they were reflected back to the Aschen ships. On the other side of the Earth, an IUPC facility just outside of Moscow was firing at a satellite in geosynchronous orbit above the city where the beams were reflected towards Aschen ships attacking Europe and Asia.

On the bridge of the Nathan Stark, Colonel John Sheppard was preparing his ship to launch when the attack came. A new, more versatile version of the gravity drive designed by S.A.R.A.H. had been installed aboard the ship, and Sheppard was about to take her out to test it. Quickly, Sheppard ordered the launch of the 305.

"I haven't calibrated the gravity drive yet!" Fargo yelled into the comm.

"Just push the button, Doug! That hardly matters right now!" Sheppard shouted back.

"Yes, it does, John! If we launch without things being set right, we could be sludge on the decks by the time we hit orbit."

Sheppard used some of the creative cursing he had learned from Fargo, and then said, more calmly, "Do your best, Doug."

A moment later, he heard from the engine deck, "The best is done! Launch us, Colonel!"

"Wonderful! Launch!" The ship attained orbit in less than a second, and Sheppard gazed at the holo screen showing him what was happening.

Just a few miles away, an Aschen warship was being pelted by drones launched from Atlantis. They were circling the warship and taking turns ramming their bodies through the warship in a pattern that Sheppard recognized. I see Carson is in the 'chair' Sheppard thought to himself as he ordered the Stark to close on an Aschen warship moving smoothly into orbit above Eureka. "Launch the fighter drones," he ordered as they closed in. "Fire at will," he told the gunner in charge of the APBs. He turned to the gunner in charge of the GD molecular bond disrupters. "Lock on the MBDs. Prepare to fire on my order."

The gunner acknowledged, and then said, "No need. The drones have destroyed the ship, sir."

"Come on!" Sheppard yelled at no one in particular. "At least let us try out the shipboard weapons!"

It had been decided by many of Earth's tactical strategists that the best approach was to take out shielded ships with low power on the APBs to remove the shields, and then use the MBDs to destroy the hull of the newly unshielded ships.

The next Aschen fighter they engaged was removed from active duty in a short time by the MBDs in the first active test of the weapons. Unfortunately, the Aschen craft got in a few shots that damaged one of the APB turrets. The weapon still fired, but only in a direction 32.7 degrees to the right of the ship's axis and slightly downward. Of course should any Aschen vehicles stray to that spot, they were destined to be toast.

Since the Jimmy Perkins had just been finished, she was not crewed yet. She had been brought to Earth on her test flight by Sheppard, as had all of the 305s, but Earth Defense had yet to decide on a crew for her. As a result, a quick call was made to General Samantha O'Neill, and she grabbed Captain Walter Harriman, her chief engineer for the Altair shipyards and they came through the gate. She officially took command of the ship, and a skeleton crew was mustered from Global Dynamics Section Five personnel. Walter was made chief engineer for the duration of the battle. As well, Jo Lupo and Deputy Andy were brought aboard to man the weapons consoles, as both had given input as to the layout for ease of use in combat situations.

The ship launched as quickly as possible. Sam saw that Sheppard was protecting Eureka, so she took the Perkins to an orbit above Moscow to protect the Earth based IUPC there. It turned out that it was a good thing the Perkins arrived when it did, as an Aschen craft, riddled with holes from the particle cannon and drones was starting a Kamikaze dive towards the surface. "Andy!" Sam called as soon as she saw what was happening.

The android turned towards her, a huge smile on his face. "Yes, Ma'am?" he said.

"Take that ship out!"

"Okey Dokey," Andy said as he turned back to the MBD controls he was manning, still grinning wildly. "Target is…. Destroyed," he said a moment later as the doomed craft turned to gravel, then to dust as it continued on its course to light up the night sky of Moscow with millions of microscopic meteors. Andy's mouth made an "oh" shape and his eyes widened as he saw the effects of the MBDs. Then, resolutely grinning, he turned the weapons on other ships that needed removing. Sam glanced at him in acknowledgement and caught his reaction. A kid in a candy store, she thought, grinning herself.

Back aboard the Nathan Stark, a drone riddled craft was moving into a lower orbit as it lost power. Its pilot was having trouble controlling the craft, but it seemed that collateral damage was something the Aschen wished to maximize. The final course the ship took before its control was lost put it on an arc that would remove Juneau, Alaska from the map.

"Get me close to that ship," Fargo told Sheppard. "I have an idea!"

Sheppard ordered the Stark to come within ten meters, directly above the disintegrating warship. Fargo manipulated the new gravity drive and increased gravity below the ship. This caused the Aschen craft to fall upwards, towards them. At the same time, he increased gravity above the Stark and in effect, they both fell out of the Earth's gravitational field. Once he had them into a high enough, stable orbit, he let go of the Aschen ship and the Stark's MBDs reduced it to dust.

Elsewhere, the Terran Fighter Drones, or "Seekers" were in a heated dogfight against the Aschen Fighter drones: "Arrows". Already thousands of Aschen Fighter drones were in space trying to gain superiority. In a one on one fight the Terran fighters were superior. However the Aschen had a vastly greater number on their side. The fighting between the Seekers and Arrows continued until half of the Arrows changed course and flew toward Earth at their top speed. Many were heading towards tall mountains but some were heading towards freshwater rivers and reservoirs both natural and artificial.

In Atlantis, Carson Becket was alerted to the drones attempting to make runs on Earth's surface. He was about to ignore them and allow the Air Forces and Navies of the world to deal with them when Atlantis alerted him to biological agents aboard the drones. Remembering his briefing Carson almost panicked until his training took over.

"Everyone listen." Carson said over the com lines to the Earth fleet, his brogue extremely pronounced in his excitement. "The sensors are telling me that the Arrows are carrying biological weapons."

Silence. Finally, there was the strained voice of O'Neill as he acknowledged. "Alright Carson, we're redirecting the F-302s and the atmospheric fighters to combat them."

"Can we use the Seekers to attack?" Samantha O'Neill asked.

"Do the Arrows in orbit have bioweapons?" O'Neill asked in response to her question.

"Yes they do. Every one of them is armed with bio weapons," Carson responded.

"Then no, the seekers need to hold the rest of the arrows off. You need to pick off the ones that are making runs on Earth. General Chekov and Colonel Davidson; help Carson destroy the arrows."

The arrows were accelerating towards Earth this whole time. Already they were moving at fifteen times the speed of sound.

"Oh no! Their approach is completely ballistic. They are not intending to hit the ground. The arrows are moving so fast that they will shatter the moment they hit the atmosphere. The bio toxins will be spread across the world in days." Radek Zelenka said from the Atlantis sensor console.

Everyone was looking at the sensor readouts in horror as the Aschen arrows slammed into the mesosphere. Most of the arrows survived and continued down and were destroyed once they hit the stratosphere. Most of these were aimed into the Jetstream and the fastest moving of the prevailing winds. From there the bio-toxins were spread across the whole world. Some of the arrows launched capsules of toxins into the rivers and reservoirs poisoning the water supply. Even more of the capsules detonated over vast fields of corn in the American heartland, and wheat in China and India.

In Los Angeles, California, it seemed as though time had stopped as people stared out to sea. On the horizon was an Aschen warship, rapidly getting larger. It was coming in low, and fire was gushing out of every one of its ports. It looked like nothing so much as an avenging angel, coming to take revenge on the city for some past wrong. Behind the ship was another, much smaller vessel, fire spewing from its nose. Wherever the fire touched the large ship, it burst into flame, but it wasn't going to be consumed soon enough. On board the Queen Mary the tour going on had stopped. Fred Torgerson, a steelworker from Chicago, was standing by the rail, watching as the ship grew larger and larger. He had been in the army in Desert Storm, and his training suddenly came to life. He grabbed his wife's hand, and pulled her towards the eastern side of the superstructure. "Come on, People!" he shouted to those who stood, unmoving by the railings. "Get behind the walls!"

People started running and shouting, but it was far too late. The ship touched the buildings in central Los Angeles. It nosed over, and started to cartwheel across the city, breaking apart as it did. The smaller ship behind it was consumed by the fireball created in the first spin of the larger craft. Then, something in the large craft must have given way, because it exploded as it landed on its back. Then, a much larger blast took its toll.

The shockwave from it ran down the valley, taking out everything between Los Angeles and Ontario. Burbank and North Hollywood were protected by the Hollywood Hills, but everything south of the city was flattened. Master Sergeant Fred Torgerson, Retired, had time to think, 'I never should have left Chicago' before those who had been watching on the Queen Mary, were smashed to a pulp by the force of the blast. The blast finally ran out of force at San Clemente, to the south. While North Hollywood and Burbank were spared the blast, they were badly damaged due to the number of planes that were knocked out of the sky by the shockwave.

Those in San Bernardino, who saw the blast and the devastation dissipating as it came towards them, thought they were in the clear. They were not. The radiation levels from a Naquadria reactor were great, and while the giant Aschen ship hadn't been powered by one, the smaller, Earth ship, was. It was from there that the larger, more devastating explosion came, and it had the greater fallout as well. The fallout spread all the way to Bakersfield, Barstow, Palm Springs, and San Diego. Southern California was rendered uninhabitable, and would remain that way for many years to come.

The GD-305s were proving their worth. They were tearing their way through the Aschen ships with little difficulty. Due to the size difference, the greater maneuverability, and speed of the 305s, they were easily cutting the Aschen lines apart.

The hundreds of Seekers launched by the 305s were weaving their way through the Aschen shields and firing at the Aschen weapons emplacements with ease. Already many of the ships were having trouble maintaining their rate of fire. Several Seekers were carrying two pods beneath their wings. Inside these pods were twenty mini drones each. Once in the middle of the Aschen lines the Pods were released and the mini drones fired. They quickly targeted several Aschen ships and flew right through their hulls, leaving small holes in their wake, which quickly grew from air pressure blasting through them. From there they began fulfilling their purpose as Anti-Personnel weapons. In minutes the targeted ships were devoid of crews and drifting in space.

The Earth fleet was rescued from being overwhelmed when a fleet of Free Jaffa Ha'tak dropped out of hyperspace. The Jaffa fleet quickly took up position where any stray shots would not hit earth and opened fire. Hundreds of Orange plasma blasts bombarded the remaining Aschen ships eliminating them. After 4 hours of combat the majority of the Aschen fleet was destroyed. Those that weren't, escaped into hyperspace.

However, the Aschen fleet wasn't done wreaking havoc on Earth. Several ships were in low orbits where they were subject to gravitational pull before they could be towed to a safer orbit. Many of them fell, destroying whatever was in their way. Cities, farms, homes, schools… it did not matter.

When the battle had begun, President Mark Gilmor had been standing behind a podium giving a speech. It wasn't just any speech…. It was The Speech. This speech would insure that his name was remembered. His concern, however, was whether it would be remembered in fame or infamy.

He had dreaded giving this speech, but O'Neill, Jack Carter, and his new VP had convinced him that it needed to be done. Disclosure. This would either unite the people of Earth, or drive them apart.

It was going well. People in the White House press room certainly seemed to be listening, and he was explaining about the Goa'uld Ra, when an aide brought him a note. One was also given to each of the three men standing with Gilmor on this disclosure. Each man read his copy, and the three behind the president looked at each other. It was news of the invasion.

O'Neill left the platform. He had to get to his jumper.

Carter was sick. The news made him physically ill. Here, they had convinced the president to go out on a limb and make full disclosure. The other nations of the world were broadcasting this speech as well. He looked at the president. He was standing, head bowed, shaking. Carter wondered if the commander in chief was crying. It almost looked like it.

Daniel Jackson was unsure of what to do. There were murmurings from the press. It was obvious that something was going on, but no one was filling them in on just what it was. Jackson took a tentative step forward. He was going to confer with his boss and see what he wanted to do, but then, the president slumped to the floor. In an instant, the secret service was herding the press out of the room. The president's doctor was brought in, and Daniel found himself in command. He and Carter slipped out of the press room and started making their way to the situation room. Instead, they were intercepted by the secret service who hurried them to the helipad. There, they found O'Neill waiting for them in the jumper. Six secret service agents climbed in the open back end of the jumper. Then, O'Neill closed it and they were airborne.

One of the agents, whom both O'Neill and Daniel obviously knew, introduced himself to Carter as Aiden Ford. He told them that the president was being examined by a doctor, but that it was up to Daniel to lead right now.

O'Neill cloaked the little ship, and then pushed it to its limits. He headed towards stargate command, then on reflection, turned the ship towards Atlantis. The city ship would be cloaked and shielded, due to an Asgard shield generator MaKay installed on a day off. This would provide the acting president with more safety than NORAD could.

He contacted Chekov, his second in command, and informed him of his intentions. "That is a good idea, General. I will stay here and be your eyes and ears until you arrive at Atlantis. It will be better if you stay there rather than try to come back here. Atlantis has much more sophisticated monitoring equipment than NORAD anyway."

O'Neill agreed with Chekov. There was a time when he would have thought the Russian was trying to push him out of the loop, by suggesting that he stay away from command, but that time was no longer. Chekov was too much of a professional in any case.

They made arrangements for the battle intel to be delivered to the jumper and then to Atlantis, as well as a continuous two way connection for O'Neill.

The jumper was quickly stowed in its bay and O'Neill fairly flew to the control room. He had Sam recalled from Altair, although as he ordered her to take command of the Jimmy Perkins, his heart was in his throat. It stayed there, and added the occasional jump when the Perkins found itself in tight jams, throughout the battle. Intellectually, he knew that Sam was a consummately skilled commander, and that the ship she was commanding was the most advanced in Earth's fleet, but he was in love with her, and that was that. His heart was going to do what it would, and he'd just have to deal with it.

Reports were coming in left and right. Carter and Jackson were staying out of O'Neill's way, but they knew that their places were by his side through this horror. Then the reports of the Bio toxins came through. Jackson had Dr. McKay called to the control room. She quickly assessed the situation and asked Jackson to call in Allison, Janet Fraser and Zoe Carter to help her take stock and suggest solutions.

When the Phoenix was destroyed, taking out Los Angeles, Jackson bowed his head for a moment, but that was it. Throughout his time with SG1, he had been, in effect, Special Forces trained. He knew the cost of war, but O'Neill also knew that his friend would spend many nights awake, seeing the images transmitted to Atlantis showing the explosions, over and over. It would be worse for him as he was technically in command when it happened.

Then, all was quiet. The Jaffa controlled Ha'tak had put in its appearance and the combined force had routed the Aschen ships. O'Neill called the Ha'tak and was pleased to see Bra'tac's face smiling at him.

"Bra'tac! Good to see you, but we've got another problem that we need to ask your help with. Several of those Aschen warships are too low to stay in orbit. They're gonna come down, and they won't be very particular about where they hit. "

"I will do what I can; O'Neill, but we are only one ship."

Carter was thinking furiously... "General," he said. "What about Fargo's trick? I know the Nathan Stark has better gravity drives than the others, but couldn't the other 305s do the same thing? Maybe not as efficiently, but they should be able to move those hulks into a higher orbit."

"Sheppard!" O'Neill's voice reverberated through the control room.

"I'm on it, General."

"Good. What about it, Sam? Can you do it with the other 305s?"

"We've got to try. Good thinking, Monkey." She grinned as she used Lexi's pet name for their brother.

Carter was smiling as he looked at the image of his sister on the screen. "Yeah….. Don't call me Monkey."

Jackson was looking quizzically at Carter. "Monkey, Jack?"

"It's a pet name our sister Lexi used to call me. Well, she still does actually…" Suddenly Jack was staring at his wife. "Ally! Lexi.. What about Duncan? Could you use his help on this bio-toxin thing?"

Zoe caught the excitement too. "Yeah! Uncle Duncan is great with bio-toxins. I'll bet he'd have some ideas."

Allison was considering. "He's in South Africa right now." She turned to O'Neill. "General, did any of that stuff get into Lake Victoria?"

"What about it, General Chekov?"

"We're checking the prevailing winds right now, General. And, yes. It looks like some of the winds will have taken the toxins to Lake Victoria."

Allison looked from the Russian on the screen to O'Neill. "General. We could sure use Duncan."

He looked at Jackson. "It's your call, Daniel. How many people do you want working on this?"

Jackson was surprised. "Why's it my call, Jack?"

"Because Duncan doesn't have security clearance, and you now outrank me, buddy. Do we want to bring him into the loop?"

"Oh. By all means, give him clearance and get him out to Lake Victoria." He turned to the communications console. "Any word about President Gilmor?"

The young man sitting there hesitated. "Yes, sir. I have some information. Do you want me to say it…." He hedged and Jackson put a hand on his shoulder.

"Almost every person in this room knows the President. They're concerned too," he told the young man in a calming voice.

The man nodded. "Sir, apparently the president's doctor says he's had a stroke. I don't have all the particulars, but I can patch you in to the Whitehouse."

Jackson swallowed hard but told him to do just that.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Standard Disclaimer: Neither Stargate nor Eureka are owned by the authors. If they were, there would be "in canon" crossovers between the two. Please Review.

Two days later, Daniel Jackson, Jack O'Neill, Jack Carter, and Henry Deacon sat in the conference room at Global Dynamics. Two secret service agents stood by the door, one of which was Aiden Ford. He was now in charge of the contingent protecting Daniel Jackson.

Daniel had the floor for this meeting. "Ok. So what I'm going to tell you goes no further than this room. Much of it is going to become common knowledge soon, but until then, we want to limit damage control.

"It seems that Mark Gilmor has had a stroke. I've talked to his doctor and his wife. Neither one would let me talk to Mark at this point. However, they both tell me that Mark was really concerned about disclosure. He knew it was necessary, but he was really dreading it because he knew it could either make or break him." What was left unsaid, but thought by all the people in the room was how the family of Gilmor would fare with disclosure. The President was known to be a family man, and his kids would bear whatever reaction their father received. That would be a terrible burden for a man like Gilmor.

"His doctor is afraid that any more stress could kill him. He does know about the battle, but he does not know about Southern California, nor does he know about the other cities that were destroyed. Most especially, he does not know about the bio-toxin.

"Because of all of these things, President Mark Gilmor is going to be taking some time off."

Daniel stood up and started pacing. He was an accomplished public speaker, but O'Neill could tell he was disturbed by what he was saying. He really didn't want the limelight, but he most certainly had it now. "As Vice President, I have the hotseat in this one. Basically, I've been told that I am in charge until further notice." He sat down and sighed heavily. "I've consulted the joint chiefs, and they recommend retaliation. As much as I hate to say it, I agree. But, this is home world security, not just home land. So it's in your purview, Jack." He looked at O'Neill. "What do you recommend?"

O'Neill glanced at the other two men in the room. He knew that Jackson could and would do what was necessary. He figured Carter would, too. The wildcard, however, was Dr. Deacon. He knew that his friend and brother-in-law thought very highly of Henry, and from what he had seen himself, that was well deserved. But he also knew that Henry was essentially, a pacifist. He wasn't someone who liked the military applications of Global's technology.

"I recommend retaliation as well, Mr. President," O'Neill said carefully.

Daniel had been looking at the floor until O'Neill used the title. His head snapped up and he looked sternly at his friend. Then he softened as he realized that the General was not teasing, as he first suspected, but showing respect. O'Neill almost never saluted, and he certainly wouldn't use a title where Jackson was concerned. "Come on, Jack. It's still Daniel to you three."

O'Neill nodded. Then he looked to Henry. "Dr. Deacon; Jack has told me that you aren't someone who is entirely comfortable with the military aspects of GD."

Henry nodded, but said. "General. Jack is right. But, I'm not someone who will sit idly by and allow my race to be destroyed. I understand that the Aschen will be back if we don't stop them, and to stop them, we'll have to make a show of force. You tell me what you need, and we'll make it. Remember, I'm still subject to the EWOCs on that, but I think under the circumstances, unless you want a doomsday machine, we'll be able to supply it." He paused, then looked O'Neill in the eye. "You understand, General. I don't like it, but it's necessary. I'm not blinded by my ideals."

O'Neill nodded. Then he turned to Jack.

"Disclosure has been made, Jack, but that doesn't end your job. As a matter of fact, the way I see it, your job just got alot harder. It's no longer a blanket, nothing gets out like in the past. Now there will be lots more filtering. How much do we want to let through to the public right now?

Jack was just a bit incredulous; "Well… I think people are going to notice that Southern California turned into a nuclear wasteland," he said harshly. "And one or two people will notice the disappearance of Tokyo and New York. Or Chicago. Or any of the other cities around the world that were destroyed." He calmed a bit and said. "I know. Getting… frustrated, isn't the answer. Honestly, Jack. I'm thinking that this really isn't a case of what do we tell. It's what don't we tell, because things are pretty much out in the open right now."

Daniel nodded, then said, "What about the toxin? Does that need to get out?"

Henry shook his head. "If news of that toxin got out to the general public, we'd have a panic. Until we have an answer as to how people will be effected, that shouldn't be spread."

"Any news on what it does?" Daniel asked.

Carter nodded his head. "Duncan got here late last night, and he, Ally and Zoe spent the night talking. I listened until it got too technical for me. Then I tried to sleep. I ended up dreaming of DNA molecules being attacked by viroids and peptide chains with big teeth. It wasn't a good dream."

He drew in a deep breath, "The long and the short of it is, it's a virus that forces a person's white blood cells to attack their own body. They literally start to be dismantled from the inside out."

He shuddered. "Duncan brought a picture of a victim who drank some of the water from Lake Victoria. A person's body basically becomes one big infection, but it's faster than Staph or any other infection than we've ever seen here on Earth. The picture I saw was not something I'd like to see again." He turned to Henry. "Remember when the guy froze solid at the spa?" Henry nodded and looked decidedly uncomfortable, remembering the thawed version of the scientist in question. "It was worse."

Daniel saw Henry's face and decided not to ask too many questions. O'Neill asked however.

Jack answered. "He was frozen solid, Jack. He was brittle, and he was knocked over. He shattered, and Jo had to sweep up the remains. They thawed in Henry's garage. It was nasty."

"And this was worse?" O'Neill asked, eyes widening.

Jack just nodded.

"Ok. So the public definitely does not need to know about the toxin. Anything else?" O'Neill seemed to be happy to change the subject.

Henry cleared his throat. "I have something that I think would be detrimental if it got out."

O'Neill asked, "And that is?"

"Douglas Fargo and Walter Harriman went down to LA to investigate what happened there," Henry said, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. "Phoenix got caught in the blast of the Aschen warship. There was a crack that had developed in her superstructure, allowing superheated gases from the explosion to enter her engine room. This caused the reactor to go critical almost instantly. Over ninety percent of the devastation was caused by the explosion of the Naquadria reactor powering Phoenix. It was the same for the radioactive fallout. We know what happened, but the general public doesn't, nor do I think the facts would matter to most of them. In the state of mind they are in, they would probably just hear that the explosion from one of our own ships caused the death of millions of humans."

Jack saw by the expression on O'Neill's face that Henry's surmise was accurate.

"You know," O'Neill said, somewhat bitterly. "This is not the way I hoped disclosure would happen."

When the four grim faced men left the conference room, they found an equally grim faced Allison Carter waiting for them.

"Would you gentlemen head back into that room please?" she asked.

They complied. The door was shut, and Allison looked towards Aiden Ford, meaningfully.

"Oh man. Is it really that bad?" her husband asked, seeing her look.

Allison merely nodded.

O'Neill reassured her. "If we decide not to divulge anything you are about to say, Dr. Carter, it will never leave this room. Ford is a good man. He spent a lot of time on Atlantis, working with Sheppard."

"He'd better be," She turned toward Ford. "No offense, Mr. Ford."

"None taken, Ma'am," Ford replied.

"First off, I want you all to know that we're not going to stop looking for a fix for this toxin thing, but we've found something which will work, and work quite well. But there are some potential drawbacks."

"Tritonin," Daniel said.

"How did you know?" Allison asked.

"Well," Daniel replied. "Jack said the virus attacks the immune system, and you just said that there were drawbacks. I guessed."

"I'd say there are drawbacks!" O'Neill exploded. "Once you go on tritonin, you don't get off. That would be condemning the human race to drug addiction!"

"As I said, General. We're not stopping our search. I just want you to know that there is a viable option to death. Hopefully we can find something else, but if we can't, we can synthesize tritonin and at least keep our race alive." Allison's voice was ice.

O'Neill settled down at her words. "I'm sorry, Doctor. I realize you're working hard. All of you." He sat down and looked at the acting commander in chief. "Daniel. This is your call."

Daniel sat down heavily in the chair he had recently vacated. He reached up and yanked his tie off, then threw it across the room. "I need something heavier to throw," he said to no one in particular. "I didn't expect to be making this kind of decision this morning." He sighed and looked up at Allison. "How long will it take to synthesize enough tritonin, Dr. Carter?"

"We're not a production facility here, Sir," she told him. "Not for the scale needed for this." She paused for a few moments, crunching numbers in her head. "For us to make it, would take approximately three months."

"And that's almost three months too long for the first casualties," Daniel said glumly.

She nodded. "We'll have to get other manufacturers going. No matter what, we're going to lose more people. There's no way around it, even if we start manufacturing now."

Daniel looked over at O'Neill. Then to Jack. "I don't see much of a choice here, do you?"

Both of the men shook their heads, then Daniel turned back to Allison. "Start manufacturing. Co-ordinate with Jack to decide which companies to use. This falls within his scope, because of the possibility of information getting out." He looked to Henry. "Henry, if you can come up with a way to manufacture suitable amounts of tritonin, I'd love to hear about it now."

Henry started for the door. "I'm on it, Mr. President." He stopped before leaving. "Can I…?" he asked, gesturing at the door.

Daniel nodded. "Yes. Get to it."

With that, Henry was gone.

"You know, Sir," Jack said to him. "If it can be done quicker, he'll find a way."

Daniel looked O'Neill in the eye, but spoke to Carter. "I know. I just hope he can do it in time."

It turned out that they were able to synthesize enough Tritonin by converting three of the world's largest pharmaceutical manufacturers to production. As well, Henry was able to develop a system whereby a year's worth of doses would be delivered on schedule for an entire year, but he couldn't speed the production any. Due to the severity of the situation Earth contacted the Pangarans, the original developers of Tritonin. The Pangarans had a massive production capability for Tritonin and were experts at creating it. The Pangarans agreed to manufacture Tritonin and provide Earth with several experts to teach people to manufacture it.

Henry's time release for Tritonin took a bit longer to manufacture than the standard variety, but they really wanted to make sure that people weren't allergic to the drug before they gave it to them. Not that it really mattered. If they were allergic, they would die. As simple as that. Because there was no alternative, they began trying to push people through and get them acclimated to the drug. Some succeeded, but many more didn't.

There was a positive side to all of this that took people by surprise. Many previously terminally ill people were cured of their diseases. However there was a massive public outcry from people that had lost loved ones to illnesses that the SGC obviously had been able to cure since the discovery of Tritonin. The fact that the cure was addictive, was conveniently ignored.

However, most people eventually came to terms with the fact that the government had not wanted to create an unending dependency in a drug that there was no good supply for.

Another positive outgrowth of Tritonin was completely unforeseen. Because it was used when needed, and saved millions of people, the public started to see the current leadership as a benevolent friend. This actually helped people absorb the new facts of existence.

They looked to the government for leadership like never before. Jack O'Neill became a worldwide hero, as did all of the Stargate teams. But SG1 became legendary. Those who had served on SG1 were placed on a pedestal because of O'Neill. It made no difference that some of SG1 had not served with O'Neill. They were still revered because of the name.

The governments of the world re-confirmed their support of O'Neill as head of home-world-security. As well, the governments decided that they needed to form a council to govern the world. To build moral, they sent ballots out to allow the people to elect their own high chancellor. On the ballot were the names of several people who would make a good chancellor, but the majority of the people rejected any suggestions from their governments. They wanted a hero and started a massive write-in campaign. O'Neill would have been wonderful, but it was recognized that he was needed in the capacity in which he was serving. So the name 'Daniel Jackson' was written on approximately eighty-nine percent of the ballots that were returned. Daniel was flattered, but tried to refuse - until Vala talked him into accepting, that is.

Of course, it was not due simply to tritonin that the world governments were cooperating with each other. There was also the desire to show alien cultures, such as the Asgard, that Earth was unified.

In thanks to the Jaffa for coming to Earth's aid during the attack, several of the Aschen Warships were given to the Free Jaffa Nation to study. Dr. Bill Lee wrote several manuals that were included. These would allow them to upgrade their ships to the standards of the Aschen's. The Jaffa were very pleased; especially when they learned that the Aschen were able to use this technology to force back three Ori motherships.

Once Earth completed its first worldwide election for High Chancellor, the Asgard and Nox contacted them. Earth was shocked as they both wanted to create diplomatic ties with the new government. The treaty was simple, yet elegant in its intention and the exact wording of the language prevented any loss of meaning. After reading through the treaty, Daniel Jackson, the first High Chancellor of Earth, signed the treaty making Earth, officially, the Fifth Race in the Alliance of Great Races.

The new government was based in the cityship, Atlantis. It was decided to use it because no one nation owned it. The scientific expedition to Atlantis had been multinational, and it remained that way. As a result, a spot removed from the rest of the nations of the world was chosen for the city's permanent home. It was moved to a spot just north of the Midway Islands, in the Pacific. Many people thought it was wrong for the city to be placed in the Pacific Ocean, since according to legend, it was supposed to be in the Atlantic Ocean. However, High Chancellor Jackson pointed out that the city's actual home on Earth had been in Antarctica, and while it was also multinational, he didn't think the government of Earth should be frozen.

The two remaining of the great races, other than Terrans, sent representatives to Earth to help with the settling of a government, and to be ambassadors. The Asgard considered sending Thor, as he had a good working relationship with Earth, but he was needed in his capacity as High Commander of the Asgard Fleet. Loki was considered as well, but it was decided that, considering his experiments on humans, this was not a good idea. Finally, another Asgard whose name was well known on Earth was chosen, although the older form of his name was preferred by him: Wodin.

The Nox sent Lya as ambassador to Earth. This gave pause to O'Neill, as he was sure she would oppose all of Earth's battles, and even the war with the Ori. "Any Nox will oppose them, Jack," Daniel pointed out to him. O'Neill had to admit that this was certainly true. Lya brought her husband, Anteaus, and son, Nefrayu with her to Earth, as she didn't want to be gone from them for very long. Certainly, she had the power to go home to Gaia anytime she wished, but she said that this took much power.

When the Free Jaffa Nation saw that others were sending ambassadors, they wanted to send one as well. They decided to send Rak'nor, who was a friend of Teal'c. When he arrived, Teal'c spent time showing his friend around Atlantis, and then they disappeared for a couple of days. It was rumored that they had toured some of the rougher neighborhoods of several cities, observing and teaching, but this was never substantiated.

Finally, the last of the ambassadors for the present time arrived. This ambassador was from the Tok'ra, and O'Neill had misgivings. In his dealings with the Tok'ra, he had been less than impressed with their single minded approach to the fight with the Goa'uld. Now, however, he was about to meet a Tok'ra on his own turf.

"Incoming wormhole!"

They were standing in the Atlantis Gateroom, waiting a safe distance from the gate. O'Neill was in his dress uniform. Jackson and then Carter stood to the left side of him. They were both in suit and tie. Officially, Carter was still the sheriff of Eureka, but his sheriff's uniform was deemed not suitable for his current duties. His status as sheriff was about to change however. The current administration needed his specialties as liaison to the people of the world.

The shield was put up on the gate, just in case someone hijacked the signal and tried to send their own person through.

"We have an ID for the Tok'ra being received."

Richard Woolsey was standing slightly behind the three. At the confirmation of the ID, he turned and ordered the shields lowered.

The gate flashed into a stable wormhole, then a woman stepped through. She was a petite blonde woman, and O'Neill recognized her immediately. "Now I'm sorry I put on this monkey suit," he muttered. Jackson nudged him in the side with his elbow; "Knock it off, Jack," he said out of the side of his mouth. Jackson stepped forward. "Anise. Welcome to Earth."

She stepped forward and held out her hand in the Terran fashion. "Thank you, Chancellor. It's good to be here again."

He took her hand and led her forward. "Of course, you know General O'Neill." He turned to Carter. "And this is Jack Carter."

At his name, she started. "Not…."

Jack held out his hand. "I'm Samantha Carter's brother. Jacob was my father."

"Your father was a great man, Mr. Carter."

"It's Marshal Carter," he corrected her.

Jackson introduced Mr. Woolsey, then they left the control room. Mr. Woolsey showed her to her quarters, and after they had left her alone, Carter cornered O'Neill. "What was that all about, Jack?"

"We've had several run-ins with Anise. She's very ethnocentric toward the Tok'ra. And she doesn't seem to give a care for any other race. In short, I don't like her." He started to walk away, then turned back. "At all." Then he turned away and stalked off.

The next day, Jackson was in his office, working on the speech he was supposed to give at the treaty signing ceremony. He was having some trouble saying what he wanted to, and not for the first time, wondered how he had gotten roped into being the High Chancellor of Earth.

There was a knock on his door, and without looking up, he said, "Come."

The door opened and a man walked in. "Good morning, Chancellor," He said.

Jackson looked up. "Oh, hello Dr. Marten. Are you getting moved in ok?"

The man nodded, and motioned to a chair, inquiring if he could sit. Jackson nodded, and the man sat down. He had dark hair, immaculately smoothed straight back, and a ready laugh stemming from a wonderful sense of humor. He also had curiously tan eyes - so much so, that Jackson sometimes wondered if one of his ancestors had been albino. Whatever the cause, he liked him very much. "Please, Chancellor. Call me Eric." He sat very erect, hands lightly on the arms of the chair. "I am very happy with the accommodations that have been provided for me. It is a shame, however, because I was hoping to be able to spend some more time with my daughter, but I suppose I shall get used to it."

"I understand, Eric. It would have been nice to keep Atlantis in Lake Archimedes, but you gotta do what you gotta do. The Council demanded that the capital not be in any country, so. The middle of the Pacific it is." He smiled at Marten.

Marten laughed, and then asked, "What do you know of Doug? Holly is set on marrying him, and I do not know an iota about him."

Jackson nodded again, then said, "I don't know a lot about him personally, either Eric. But I do know his actions saved lots of people in the Aschen battle. And he's been partially responsible for the Terran hyperdrive. He's a brilliant scientist."

Marten turned serious. "I realize that, Chancellor. I have had several dialogues with him, and in each one, he has impressed me with his knowledge of physics, chemistry, biology. Basically, he is what every man would want for their daughter, as far as that goes. But what I would like to know is what his personality is like. Each time he talks to me, he seems to freeze. His mind shows through, but his personality does not. I do not know what I am doing to elicit that response in him, but for Holly's sake, I would like to put him at rest. I do not know how to do that, because I am unfamiliar with his personality."

Jackson thought about it for a bit. "You know what, Eric? You should talk to Jack Carter, his wife Allison, or even Henry Deacon. Someone who has lived in Eureka and knows Fargo. I'm certain one of them could help you to get to know him." Jackson paused for a moment. He thought about what Marten had just said. The reaction Marten was getting from Fargo was not unlike the reaction Jackson was getting from Marten. It seemed to Daniel that Marten became somewhat wooden whenever they spoke. Daniel hoped it wasn't discomfort because of his position. He was depending on Eric Marten as his science advisor to the United States. Previously, Marten had held the position of science advisor for Mark Gilmor. Daniel had stolen him from Gilmor because he recognized the brilliance of the man. If only they could get past the discomfort Marten seemed to show whenever they talked.

Marten stood, and held out his hand. "Thank you, Chancellor. I will do that."

They shook hands, and Jackson said, "I'm glad I could help."

The council chambers of Atlantis had been left in one of the towers. What they were originally was anyone's guess, but they made a room very reminiscent of the United States Senate floor. What was different here, however, was the ability to make the wall behind the platform transparent, so the people in the chamber could see the sky beyond the tower. It was actually looking out of the city, as this tower was on the edge, so the view was uninterrupted. The wall was transparent now, and the setting sun could be seen through it.

On the platform was a lectern and a table. On the lectern was a white quill pen in a stand and a gavel. On the table were five identical pens, set beside each seat, which were, in themselves, very ornate.

Daniel Jackson stood in the council chambers of Atlantis. He was actually alone in the room, but it didn't seem that way. Each spot representative of a nation of Earth had a person in it. Or rather, each spot had a holographic image of a person in it. There was a balcony set up for people observing the sessions that would go on in this room in the near future. Several people were finally allowed into it and sat down. As well, there were cameras which would broadcast his image around the globe. One minute before it was time for his speech to start, two people joined him on the platform. They were real people, not holograms. Jack O'Neil, and Jack Carter. As well, four people filed into the front of the room, facing the platform. They took the four seats that had been set up there. They were the four ambassadors from different planets. It was time.

Jackson walked to the podium and started speaking. "Since the birth of the United States, the President of that country has addressed his people at the beginning of his speeches as, 'My Fellow Americans.' It occurred to me, that we would need an address like that for our people. 'Earthlings', of course, sounds too sci-fi. 'Earthers' just doesn't have the proper ring to it. The term Tau'ri is used for us around the galaxy, but it was created by the Goa'uld, and I don't see using a term created by our enemies as fitting. 'Humans'... Well. That would work, but I think 'Terrans' is the term we are looking for. It fits us as a planetary identity. So I would like to address 'My Fellow Terrans'.

"We are here in this first act of the Council of Earth, to ratify a treaty signed by the nations of our world, and another treaty, signed with four other races.

"The first of the two treaties being signed tonight, will allow for the unification of our world, and will grant us the ability to act as one body. This is necessary as we are no longer alone in the universe. We have found that we are one world in a host of them, many of whom contain humans who have been removed from their original home for one reason or another, like the Jaffa. There are also races like the Nox, and the Asgard, and the Tok'ra. We need to take the step to unify so we no longer bicker among ourselves. Today we are growing up and joining with these other worlds, and we cannot do it as a divided world.

"As a united Earth, we will sign the second of the treaties with the Free Jaffa Nation, the Nox, the Asgard, and the Tok'ra.

"Long ago, there were the Four Great Races in our Universe. They were the Asgard, the Nox, the Furlings, and the Alterrans. Two of those races are not here now. But in the races that have a vested interest in defeating the Ori, three more are replacing the Furlings and the Alterrans: The Terrans, the Free Jaffa, and the Tok'ra.

"These treaties are representative of our joining together for the purpose of making a united front against the Ori. This front is not to wage war, but to say, 'No Further will you come.' We are making the statement that if the Ori comes against one of us, they come against all of us.

"The definition of an icon is, 'a person or thing regarded as a representative symbol of something.' This treaty that we are signing, is iconic of the stand we are taking against the Ori. Therefore, this treaty will be known as the 'Treaty of Icon'.

"This is a day that will need to be remembered from now on into perpetuity. Our children and our children's children will hear about this day in generations to come, because for the first time in the Terran's history, Earth is united."

With that, there was a thunder of applause from the auditorium. Great care had been taken to make sure that, even though the delegates were holograms, their realism was complete, so even the sound of their applause was as real as it could be made.

Jack Carter, who had recently accepted the duties of Chief of Staff for Daniel Jackson, came to the lectern now. He held up a bundle of documents. "This treaty has been brought to each of you, and has been duly signed and witnessed in each of your countries." For the benefit of those in the audience and watching on television, who were not privy to the wording of the treaty, he explained further. "It promises an end to war on this planet, and offers stiff penalties for those who engage in it. It allows each of our countries to maintain its sovereignty, while still allowing for the government of the Federation of Earth Nations, and it's government which will be housed here, in Atlantis. All that remains, is for Chancellor Jackson to sign it."

Daniel Jackson again moved to the lectern, took the old fashioned white quill pen which had been set in a holder at the front of it, and signed his name to the FEN treaty.

Carter took the lectern again. "This treaty also allows the High Chancellor to sign the treaty with the four representatives from other worlds, on your behalf." Carter was having fun, although he couldn't believe he was here, lecturing the leaders of the nations of Earth. He felt like adding a few choice phrases of his own, but he stuck to the speech he had memorized and fretted over as Ally helped him with his suit and tie earlier. "It allows him to speak for this world in all matters. Except in time of War, this will only be done with the approval of a majority from you, the Nations of Earth."

Jackson was watching the four in front, and at the mention of War, he saw Lya of the Nox, shudder. Carter went on. "Is there a majority vote for the Nations of Earth to sign the Treaty of Icon with the worlds represented here tonight? Signal with raised hand." It was just a formality done for the benefit of the cameras. Each delegate had already signed their name to an agreement saying that they wished the treaty. For something this important, a simple raising of hand would not be used. However, each delegate raised their hand, and the camera swept over the auditorium to show the people of Earth that, for the first time in Terran history, their leaders were in full agreement. "Let the record show that High Chancellor Jackson is acting with the full approval of the Federation of Earth Nations as he signs the Treaty of Icon." With that, Daniel Jackson moved to a table to the right of the lectern, and the four ambassadors rose as one and also moved to the table. Each sat down, and starting with the Anise, the treaty was signed and sealed by each representative, until it reached Jackson. He looked up at the delegates of Earth, and then up to the balcony. He caught Vala's eye, and saw her beaming at him. He smiled back, and then, took the quill pen, and signed "Daniel Jackson, High Chancellor, Earth" to the parchment of the treaty. Then, in an act designed to symbolize the importance of the occasion, he poured some sealing wax onto the parchment, and shoved the ring that had been provided him for just such an occasion into it.

As soon as Jackson placed the seal of the Federation of Earth Nations on the document, a signal was relayed to someone on the pier directly below the council chambers. A button was pressed, and several fuses were lit, sending fireworks into the now completely dark sky west of Atlantis. They arced out over the water and blossomed in line with the transparent wall behind Jackson as he stood and held up the signed treaty for all to see. The booms from the rockets were completely drowned out by the applause from the delegates and balcony alike.


	8. Chapter 8

The combined fleet of the Terrans, Free Jaffa, and Asgard was sitting on the outskirts of the Heliopolis system. Dozens of ships were waiting for the order to come from Earth to begin their strike against the Aschen.

On the bridge of his ship, Thor was looking over the intelligence report detailing the abilities of the Aschen. He was sorely disappointed. The Aschen had used up the last of their strength in their futile effort to capture Earth. They had less than 15 ships and all were damaged.

A few minutes later, the last of the crews arrived on the Earth ships. Thor was glad that these personnel were not on his ships. They were news crews. They were meant to show the Terran civilians how this war would be fought. Many had only seen the war over their skies. Thor heard from O'Neill that the news crews were traveling with the fleet to help raise morale among the Earth Civilians.

Thor understood why this was important, but like many other commanders, he despised having to cater to civilians that would simply be in the way. He was immensely grateful that The Asgard civilians knew to follow the orders of the military. The Replicator war cured the Asgard of any lingering civilian dislike the military.

Finally the order was given and the fleet jumped into Hyperspace. Thor looked at the readouts on his computer and grumbled. He was massively disappointed at how slow his ship was traveling. He knew that he had to wait for the Jaffa and Terran ships. The plan necessitated that the fleet arrive together.

As the ships dropped out of hyperspace, Thor prepared to give the order to open fire on the remaining ships. The combined fleet would quickly remove the threat represented by them. He never gave the order, however.

"This is the Aschen Confederation President, calling the combined fleet approaching Aschen Prime. We surrender. We are standing down. Do not fire! Again I say, we surrender."

Instead of ordering the attack, Thor opened a channel to the rest of the fleet. "This is Supreme Commander Thor. The Aschen Confederation has surrendered. Stand by for orders." He then beamed the Aschen President aboard his ship.

The man materialized a few feet away from Thor, and he was terrified. "Remain calm," Thor told him, without any appearance of compassion. He didn't feel any. This man had ordered the death of millions of Terrans. If the man was terrified, so be it. Thor manipulated his communications system again, and quickly heard, "Jackson here."

"Greetings, Chancellor Jackson. This is Thor. The Aschen have surrendered."

There was a pause. "But you just got there."

"I am afraid they saw our fleet and surrendered without a shot, Chancellor. I have the president of the Aschen Confederation aboard my ship. Would you like to speak to him?"

It would take some time for Daniel Jackson to develop the skills of a seasoned diplomat. "Not really, Thor. I'd prefer to…" He stopped and regrouped. "Yeah. I suppose I will talk to him."

Thor appeared unruffled by Jackson's slip away from diplomacy, but the truth of the matter was, Thor would gladly help Jackson in whatever he wished to do to this… paltry excuse of a human. Even Lya of the Nox had approved of what they were going to do to these people. There would be no killing, but there would be a considerable amount of instilling fear.

Jackson, for his part, quickly put a completely emotionless expression on his face as a hologram of him quickly formed on Thor's holo emitter. He looked around, and saw the Aschen President cowering where he had materialized. Thor was enjoying making this person cower, too. He slowly zoomed in the image of Jackson, making it grow larger and larger almost imperceptibly. He finally stopped when Jackson appeared over eight feet tall. The Asgard were masters of instilling awe into others, and while his expression never changed, he slipped on a recorder to save the meeting for posterity.

Jackson stared at the Aschen President for a long moment. The man was clearly afraid, and if their intelligence was right, he had every reason to be. The Aschen had no way to wage any type of war anymore. "My terms for your surrender are as follows:

"Your people will be relocated off of Aschen Prime. We will place you on a planet near the edge of the galaxy, where there are just enough trace metals for you to survive, but not enough to develop a thriving society. You will go through the stargate to this world with just the clothes on your back, then the stargate will be removed, along with the DHD. We will beam down enough supplies for you to last two weeks, but after that time, you are on your own."

The president started to sputter. Now, he was not afraid, but mad. How DARE these Tauri threaten this! The Aschen Confederation had been enormous at it's power! This Tauri Chancellor had no idea of military might! Then he realized that the Tauri Chancellor was smiling, and he knew that he would have no choice. The chancellor then confirmed his worst fears.

"Take care before you reject this offer, Mr. President. You have fifteen very damaged ships, and they are under the guns of well over six hundred undamaged. Should you refuse what is a very generous offer, under the circumstances, we can and will destroy every last piece of technology on this planet. In doing so, you will have a burned out hulk for a homeworld. Your colonists will be transported back here as well. You will have to support all of your colonists on this planet, with no resources to do so. Your people will die very quickly.

"Contrast that to what will happen if you accept our offer. You will be transported to a world where you can survive. All of you will be able to survive. It is your choice, Mr. President, but I will not wait long for you to make it."

Thor made a quick movement with his hand that dialed an address on the stargate, while the president was talking to Jackson. He had seen that people were massing near the stargate. He did not want someone dialing the gate while negotiations were being made.

On the planet's surface, people were waiting for a gate address to be dialed. The President had told his people that he would try to hold off the Terrans long enough for them to escape through the gate. Once the gate opened, hundreds of people surged towards and through it. The official who had been supposed to dial the gate tried to shout that he had not opened it, but over the shouting of the crowd, no one but those near him heard.

Those who went through, however, ended up on the planet that the chancellor had picked out for them. It wasn't where they were supposed to be and they knew it. One or two decided to try going back through the gate, even though they knew they couldn't. A man standing near the gate tried to stop them. He threw himself in front of one of them, and they both fell into the gate, although his lower leg didn't make it past the event horizon. Someone had enough presence of mind to grab it and pull him out, and in so doing, both of the men were pulled free. Had they not, they would have been killed when the gate shut down. The one who they were not able to pull free was dead. There was no way to retrieve him from the gate.

Back on board the Thor's ship, when Jackson finished and was waiting for the President's decision, Thor said, "If I may, Chancellor." At Jackson's nod, Thor turned to the President. "Where were the people going to go, Mr. President?"

"What?"

"Your people on the planet. They were massing to go through the Stargate. Where were you sending them?"

"That is not your concern." His demeanor had changed to triumph. "They have gone through by now, and you may do what you want with me. My death will insure the life of my people."

Thor shook his head slowly. "Your people have indeed gone through the gate, Mr. President. But not to the planet you had chose. Instead, I activated the stargate before your people could. They went to the planet we had planned to send them to. There is no DHD at the other end, either. Your people are where we intended to send them."

Jackson heard this, and nodded in approval. This had been considered, and Thor had followed his instructions to the letter. "So while you were 'negotiating' with me, you were trying to do what we refer to as an 'end run'. So be it. These 'negotiations' are at an end." Jackson's image disappeared, and Thor manipulated another control. The President disappeared as well.

When the President reappeared, he was in a room about six foot cubed. There was a vent in the ceiling that was allowing fresh, warm air in as well as a lighting panel. Other than that there were no features on the blank walls. He wondered how long he would have to wait. He also wondered if the Asgard had been telling the truth about his people.

Even before the President was beamed to the holding cell, Thor was speaking to the rest of the fleet. "The Aschen have tried to escape. Those who are still in this system, and in others may try. Remove the DHDs from their stargates. We will need to transport them to their new home. Commence operations."

The combined fleet started the mop up of the Aschen system, as well as their conquered systems. There was no more communication with the governments of the planets. The President had ruined the possibility of that happening. The DHDs were beamed away from each gate, so another, unauthorized destination could not be dialed, and then the people were simply herded towards the fleet dialed stargates and they went through.

After the last of the people went through the gates, the President was beamed to the surface of Aschen Prime, however, his clothing had not transported with him. The Stargate had been moved to a desert location on the surface, so there was no place for the man to run to. Thor beamed himself down as well. He stood a few feet away from the president, and activated the stargate. It flashed into an active wormhole. "You have two choices, Mr. President. You may choose to step through this gate, and rejoin your people, or you may choose to remain here. Keep in mind, however, that there is no water within five days walking distance, nor is there any shelter. If you choose to remain here, that will end your life because I will beam aboard my vessel, and take the stargate with me. I will not return to Aschen Prime, ever. Nor will any other person. Choose now because I am leaving. I will leave the Stargate here for the remainder of it's open duration, then I will beam it up. Goodbye"

With that, Thor beamed aboard his vessel. The President sat down on the steps before the gate and considered his options. While he thought he was sacrificing himself for his people, he had been brave. But now, there was no sacrifice. His people were on the other side of this gate, safe. If he stepped through, he would rejoin them. But he would be in disgrace. He would be naked for all to see. He sat for several minutes, unsure of what he should do. Finally, he stood and faced the gate. He took one step towards it, and the gate closed. He had stayed too long, undecided. Then, a few moments later, the gate disappeared, leaving him standing alone on the platform where the gate used to be. He sat down again, and started to cry.

On the new home of the Aschen, people were milling around aimlessly, near the gate. Suddenly, a ship lowered into the atmosphere near where the gate stood. The gate disappeared, and the ship, a Terran GD-305, hovered nearby. There was a sound, like thunder, as a loudspeaker somewhere on the underside of the ship came alive. Then, a voice sounded, incredibly loud. "This is Colonel John Sheppard of the Terran ship, Nathan Stark. Welcome to your new home. You will find that it is a nice home, and that you can build lives for yourselves quite nicely here. There are no raw materials with which you can generate electricity, however. The Bronze age is about as far as you will be able to get here, but there is ample food and water to build a thriving bronze age empire.

"We will shortly remove any items from your persons which represent technology of any kind. It is early spring here, and you will have a summer through which you can store up food for the winter. The year is approximately four hundred days here, so I suggest you store up a lot.

"Ok. I've just been informed that you are technology free, so I'll say goodbye, and we'll be on our way. Have a nice life."

The Nathan Stark gracefully pivoted, and started rising through the atmosphere until it dwindled to a point, then the point became a line which stretched into infinity and disappeared as the ship entered hyperspace.

The Ashen were alone.

Once Aschen Prime was devoid of Aschen, Dr. Bill Lee was beamed into the Aschen capital building and began downloading their Database into a computer. Hopefully the computers would have a cure to the disease that was used on Earth. While looking through the data, Dr. Lee found that the Aschen had located Tollona and that there were Tollan survivors in an Aschen prison on one of their other planets.

Dr. Lee informed Thor of this fact, and the ship conducting the evacuation of that planet was told. The Tollan were promptly beamed aboard, and treated by the medical staff.

It took little more than one Terran day to transport all of the remaining Aschen to their new world, and the quick, bloodless response to the attack endeared the Terran Chancellor to his people even more than he had been.

The Surviving Tollan were brought back to Earth by the Asgard. Thankfully Narim, a Tollan with whom SG1 had multiple dealings, was still alive and was able to speak for the Tollans. Several years ago, they had been found by the Aschen and brought to their home world. The Tollan thought that they had been saved by a human race just as advanced as they were. However they soon learned the truth of the Aschen. They tried to leave but were thrown into prison while the Aschen tried to crack the secrets of Tollan technology. Unfortunately, the technology base was too different and they needed the Tollan prisoners' help. They had been tortured to get the information the Aschen needed. As much as possible, the Tollen had resisted, but the Aschen had a device which would read their memories if they resisted.

"How come they didn't just read your memories and be done with it?" Sam asked Narim on a visit to his hospital room. "Why did they need to torture you?"

Narim was laying on a bed, unmoving, as he had been for many days while his skin was repaired from multiple burns.

"Honestly Sam, I think they just enjoyed it. But, they didn't get much from us. Yes, they learned how to use our technology, and how to build it, but I don't think they were able to blend it into their own technology. The differences are just too great."

"Well, even if they did learn how to build your technology and expand upon it, they can't use it now," Sam said matter of factly.

"Did the President really die rather than join his people?"

Sam nodded her head. "We found his body on the stargate platform right before we left Aschen Prime. He had apparently tried to stand at one point, and fallen. He hit his head on the platform, and gave himself a concussion. Dr. Fraser thinks it unlikely that he woke up after that."

Narim nodded. He was a peaceful man, who wouldn't normally hurt a fly, and although he didn't say anything more about the Aschen President, Sam could tell that he was just fine with the man's fate.

The Tollan were all on their way to recovery, but unfortunately, Dr. Lee wasn't able to find any cure for what the Aschen had done to Earth. What he did find, however, shocked him. In a computer file that he was easily able to open, he found records of the Aschen genetic experiments dating back for the last hundred years.

In the database, he found experiments on people, goa'uld, plant life, even entire ecosystems. One of Aschen Prime's sister planets had once been a thriving world with an ecosystem rivaling that of Aschen Prime itself. Now, it was a wasteland, devoid of life, and with almost no atmosphere at all.

The Aschen had worked for decades, trying to perfect terraforming. In several experiments, their work had led to results similar to their sister planet. But in others, they found things that could be weaponized. On one planet, they had developed a bacteria that metabolized water in a way that would cause it to react in a human body similarly to alcohol. On another planet, the same organism, with a bit of tweaking, created an acid out of water when exposed to normal, unmodified water. These planets were in the gate network and their addresses were carefully noted. Not only would it be unfortunate for someone to travel to one of these planets unaware of the dangers, but there also existed possible strategic uses for such oddities. If someone started using any of them as weapons, Earth wanted to know about it.


	9. Chapter 9

Samantha O'Neill stepped out of the stargate in Section 5 of GD. She was very tired, and was glad to see her husband waiting for her. She wasn't quite as happy to see her brother standing waiting too, however. Not that she wouldn't normally be happy to see Jack, but she was just way too tired tonight. Both of the men seemed to read her mood at the same time.

"I'll talk to you in the morning," her brother said.

"No, Jack, That's ok. What is it? "

"Really, Sam, it can wait. "

She was about to protest again, when something completely unexpected happened. The stargate opened again, and an old man walked through. What was stranger yet was that a girl of about twelve followed him.

The old man had a beard, long flowing silver robes, and a long staff.

For several moments, no one could speak. Finally, Carter found his voice. "Who are you?"

"I'm terribly sorry, Jack. I just needed to talk with Samantha and O'Neill," the old man said, as if that explained everything.

"You need to talk to me? " Sam was clearly perplexed. She wasn't sure who this old man was but clearly he knew her. He had her at a disadvantage, and it was not something she liked.

"Who are you?" she asked the old man. She noticed that her husband had his hand poised to call for security, but had stopped. He knew this old man but couldn't place him. Then, suddenly he had it.

"Merlin," he said simply.

The O'Neills, Teal'c, Daniel and Vala, and the Carter's were sitting in Henry's office. The old man, Merlin, and the young girl were seated beside each other on a couch. Henry sat behind his desk. Jo Lupo stood at the door, glowering at Merlin.

"How did you get in here?" Henry asked. "This is a secure..." he noticed Carter shaking his head.

"This is Merlin, Henry. Of King Arthur fame. I'm not sure that all of the security in the world would stop him."

"Nor do I think we'll have much success in holding him, " Jackson said pointedly to Jo.

"So we're just going to let him waltz in here?" Jo was furious.

"And we'll have to let him waltz back out, " O'Neill said.

"Ms. Lupo, I assure you that I have a very good reason for coming here, if you will permit me to explain," the old man said.

Grudgingly, Jo nodded.

Merlin turned to Henry. "Dr. Deacon, how we got in here isn't important. Daniel is quite right that your security couldn't stop me." He turned to Jo. "It really is top notch security, Mz. Lupo. It is as good as the security on Atlantis at the height of the Wraith war. " Back to Henry. "I'm here for two reasons, actually. One is to bring Jade here, to her parents and the other is to help you in fighting the Ori. "

"Bring Jade to her parents?" Vala asked.

"Why yes."

"Who are her parents?" Teal'c asked.

"I'm terribly sorry. In all the confusion I didn't get a chance to introduce her to all of you. This is Jade O'Neill."

Once Merlin made the declaration that Jade was the daughter of Jack O'Neill and Sam, Allison ran to her lab, and grabbed a portable DNA scanner. She ran it over all three of them, as well as Merlin himself.

"Dr. Carter, I can tell you what you will find in your scans," the aged wizard told her.

She grimaced as she replied, "If you don't mind, I'll see for myself."

He nodded, then reached down to smooth out his robes. He stopped and eyed them for a couple of moments, then looked up at Henry. "Would you mind terribly if I changed into something a bit less…. out of date?"

"No, not at all. Do you have any….." He stopped as he realized that the robes Merlin was wearing were shortening, and changing color. They became a tan tunic with matching breeches. His long hair shortened as well as his whiskers, until he was actually bald on top with just a ring of graying hair and clean shaven. He looked for all the world not as an old wizard, but a man of probably around fifty.

"Much better," Merlin said with satisfaction. Even the timbre of his voice had changed. When he spoke again, his voice sounded much more formal and resonant, like that of someone accustomed to being listened to. "I'm sure you will be more comfortable with me looking like this as well."

"Ok…" Henry said as if he wasn't sure how to merge this into his scientific view of the universe, which indeed, he wasn't. "Would you like to explain your statements regarding young Jade here?"

"I would be happy to, Dr. Deacon, but first, I'll tell you what Dr. Carter is going to find, because this all will fit in together." At Henry's nod, Merlin began. "Jade is, in fact, the daughter of the O'Neills." He looked to Samantha, "When you found the videotape recorded by an alternate version of yourselves five thousand years ago, did you ever wonder what their lives were like so far out of their own time? That O'Neill and Samantha Carter found themselves in love and married in ancient Egypt just like you have done here, and they had a daughter. She was, and is, Jade. Dr. Carter's tests will confirm that."

"And more," Allison said from the door to Henry's office.

"Your computers are fast, Dr. Carter. I commend you for the speed at which you've run your tests," Merlin nodded.

"Thank you, Merlin. Now would you mind explaining how I find your DNA showing that you are related to both Sam O'Neill and my husband?"

"Certainly, Dr. Carter. The simplest way of explaining that is to tell you that I am related to all four of Jacob Carter's children."

Allison shook her head. "No, sir. You don't get off that easy. That's not the simplest way of explaining things at all, as it tells nothing more than my DNA test does."

"Alright, Dr. Carter. I will tell you the story, as much as I can." When Allison began to protest, Merlin held up a hand and said, "I assure you that, in time, you will know the whole story, but what I am about to tell you is all that I can reveal right now."

"The timeline goes through many twists and turns, drawing certain people together, and pushing others apart. Even in alternative timelines, you have seen that the four people known as SG1 were drawn together, whether in the Stargate program or not. When an alternative SG1 went into the past, five thousand years into the past, they were still drawn together.

"Samantha and Jack O'Neill got together then as well." As Merlin spoke, he shifted to look at Sam and her brother. "You two are related to me, as are your brother and sister. My daughter married Jacob Carter and had four children. You two and your siblings. Therefore, Jade is my great-granddaughter."

"Assuming that's true, why wouldn't Mom have said something about you?" Sam wanted to know.

"Yeah!" her brother exclaimed. "You'd think, 'Your grandfather is Merlin, the wizard of legend' would be something she would have said."

"Yes," Merlin said nodding, "And it probably would have gotten her thrown into a… What do you call it, 'loony bin'?"

"Well," Jack said, thinking about it. "Yeah. It probably would have."

"Wait a minute, Merlin," Jack O'Neill said. "You're an ancient, and if Sam and Jack are your grandchildren, why don't they have the ATA gene?"

"General O'Neill, that is a good question, and one which I assure you has a fascinating answer. You see, I don't need an ATA gene. I can run all the technology the ancients created just fine without one."

"Wait a minute," O'Neill, who was one of the few people born with an ATA gene, interjected. "You mean there's another way to control ancient tech?"

"Well, yes. But not very many people can do it that way, I'm afraid," Merlin answered. "I'm afraid that you wouldn't have been able to operate ancient technology without the gene."

"I have a question for you, Merlin," Sam said. "How can you help us fight the Ori? Won't the Others stop you?"

Merlin stood up, and straightened his tunic. Then he walked across the room and looked out onto the concourse below. He was clearly thinking about his answer. When he turned around, his face was grave. He looked at the ceiling for a moment, then back at Henry. "The 'Others' as you call them, Samantha, cannot observe us now. Nor do they even know that they can't observe us. You see; I am not an Ancient. I am from the same race, but I am not ascended. I am something else, and I could end the Ori's ability to make war right now, except that I cannot. There are things which must happen that I cannot change. If I were to do it, all things, in every time period, would cease to exist."

O'Neill was outraged. "I'll take that chance!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, but fortunately, I will not," Merlin answered. "Nor is it a chance, General O'Neill. It is a certainty. My powers are great, but there are some things I cannot do, and some things I cannot change, no matter how much I would like to. There are fixed points in time that must happen no matter what, and the death of one like me is one of those points."

Jackson looked startled. "The death of one like you?"

"Yes. The death of one like me."

Jackson looked positively pale. "Who must die, Merlin?"

Merlin walked over to Jackson, and put a hand on his shoulder. "You will learn the answers to all of this, Daniel, but it would be better if you didn't know too much, too soon. The time will come."

Jo was livid. "You tell us you're here to help, but you tell us only half of what we need to know! This is ridiculous! How can we trust you if you won't tell us everything?"

Jackson gently guided her to a seat. "Jo, I understand your frustration, but if what Merlin says is true, and I believe it is, then we really have no choice but to trust him. We can't stop him anyway. Even were he simply an Ancient, we couldn't. An Ancient is as far above us as we are above an amoeba. If Merlin can outclass one of them…." He left the rest unsaid. She was seeing his point, and it showed.

Samantha had another question. "So if you're this powerful, how was Ganos Lal able to 'keep an eye' on you?"

"Because I let her," Merlin said, matter of factly. "It served my purpose to allow the Ascended to think they had power over me. They don't know what I'm doing now, and they know they couldn't stop me if they did."

Allison was taken aback by what Merlin had just said. "It served your purpose?"

Merlin thought for a moment. "I'm terribly sorry. That must sound self-serving. I'm afraid that things sometimes come out that way. What I meant was that it was best if they thought they had some control. Eventually they found out that they didn't, but not until I let them discover it."

They spoke to Merlin for some time, and learned little else. It was evident that this was simply because Merlin didn't wish for them to learn more, and that frustrated the scientists, but O'Neill and Lupo even more. They weren't sure what to do under the circumstances.

Finally, it was time to make a decision as to what they should do regarding the two. "We need to discuss things, but who's going to watch Merlin while we do," O'Neill said.

"I hate to say this, Jack," Carter pointed out, "but what difference would it make if we tried to get privacy. From what I've seen, any privacy from Merlin would be an illusion."

Samantha glanced at Merlin, who was standing in the corner talking to Jade, quietly. "I don't know that we'd get a straight answer from him one way or another. What do we do with him? Or her? She's apparently my daughter, but I don't know a thing about her. Jack?" She was looking at her husband.

"My job, is the security of this planet, but now I'm being shown a kid who, in theory, is my responsibility to care for, but what if she's as powerful as her 'great-grandfather' appears to be. As Sam says, she's apparently my daughter, but she could also be one of the greatest dangers to this planet. It's quite a pickle."

"So do we take her with us, or leave her here?" Sam wondered.

Jackson had been quiet for some time. Now he said, "It seems to me that there's little you can do about Merlin's power anyway. We have seen what he can do. And we don't know anything about Jade's power. I doubt we could hold Merlin in a cell, could we, Merlin?" he asked.

"No," Merlin said, and he walked through the door into the hall and back. Without the door opening. "You couldn't."

"So," Daniel went on, "the question seems to be, do we want to let these two do what they want, or do we want them where we can see what they're doing?"

"That seems overly simplistic, Daniel," Sam said. "I'm getting the impression that nothing is that simple with Merlin."

"No," he agreed. "But it seems that with the limited options we have, keeping what little bit of an eye we can on them would be prudent."

Carter nodded his head slowly. "Oh, boy." he said. "Uh, Merlin… Grandpa." At Samantha's smirk, he shrugged his shoulders. "Why not?" he said to her.

"Yes, Jack?" Merlin responded.

"How'd you like to stay at my house for a while? Do a little bit of grandfather, grandson bonding? Maybe do some fishing up at the lake?" He looked at his wife. She had her mouth open in shock. "Or not…" he finished lamely.

The older man strode over to them. "Allison, I understand your concern. I give you my word, for what it's worth, that I am no danger to anyone in your household. As a matter of fact, my main concern is their protection."

To Jack, he said. "I would like for you to get to know me very much. Both of you, and your children," he finished. He turned to Sam and Jack. "So will you take Jade with you and get to know her?"

O'Neill looked at his wife, who nodded. He then looked to Carter, as this definitely would count as an "alien amongst us". Carter understood, and said. "I'm not sure why, but I think we can trust Merlin. And what could we do if not? As Daniel says, it's better to have them where we can see what they're up to."

Sam gave her brother a dirty look. "Jack, that's kind of rude!"

Merlin quickly said, "He's quite right, Samantha. With us where you know where we are, you'll sleep better."

With that, he turned to Jade. "So I'll let you go with your parents, Jade. They're good people. You'll like them."

"I'm sure I will, Grandfather, but they're not really my parents, are they? I mean they're not the same people I knew."

Merlin took her to the couch and sat her down, putting an arm around her shoulder and pulling her close. "Child," he said. "I understand what you are saying. No. Neither the mother, nor the father you see in this room knows you. But that doesn't mean that they're not your parents. You see, what made your parents who they were, are still present in this Jack and Sam O'Neill. The memories you had with them won't be there, but the essence of who they are is the same. You'll make new memories with them, and they'll be just as special as the ones you had with the parents you remember." He hugged the girl, who now had tears running down her face, even closer. "Jade, I have cared for you for as long as I can. Now you need to spend time with your parents. Let them get to know how wonderful you are. And get to know how wonderful they are, because I can tell you. I've watched them for awhile. They're good people."

"But I'm going to miss you, Grandfather."

"There's no need to be missing me, child. I'm going to be around here for quite some time yet. I'm going to see this war through." He stood up with her. "Now, Jade. You need to go with your parents. Ok?"

She nodded, "Alright, Grandfather. I will." She looked at Sam and smiled bravely.

"And I'm going to go with your Uncle Jack," Merlin told her. He turned to Jack and Allison. "Shall we?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "Sure," he said. "Let's go."

The O'Neills also left, with Jade. Jo was left simmering, with Henry and Jackson.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The authors would like to clarify that they don't own anything involving Stargate or Eureka. But somewhere in the multiverse we may. Possibly, somewhere, very far from our universe. Ok maybe not.

About a week after Merlin arrived, Henry was working on some blueprints he had made up. They were of a ship that he was designing, and in honor of the Asgard, he was planning on calling it the "Valhalla Class". It was a radical departure from the normal Earth based ship designs. He was just measuring off some distances between engine ports, when there came a knock on his door.

"Come in," he called to the open door.

Fargo stuck his head around the door frame. "Hey, Henry! Wanna go to Cafe Diem with Holly and me? We can pull Grace out of her office too."

"Sure, Doug. Let me put these away, then we can go." He stood and put the blueprints away, in a tube on the shelf behind his desk, then he grabbed his coat, and they were on the way.

They met up with Grace and Holly by Fargo's car, Tabitha. Once inside, Fargo asked, "So how are things going at the top, Henry?"

"They're fine, Doug. You know? I really didn't expect to have much time to do any research of my own, once I became head of GD."

"I'm surprised you do," Fargo said. "I was constantly having to put fires out, military people to pacify. It wasn't exactly a glamorous job."

"Mmm hmmm," Henry said. "And I think it's those military people you were having to pacify that makes the difference. We still have military people asking for things, but GD isn't working directly for them anymore. Plus, Jack and Sam O'Neill are good people, who aren't here constantly, asking for updates and demanding this and that."

Holly was in the passenger seat, holding Fargo's hand. She turned to where she could face Henry. "From what I can see, Dr. Deacon, people love what they're doing. There's a much more relaxed atmosphere at GD now." She looked at Fargo, almost startled as she realized what she was saying. "Not that people weren't relaxed when you were in charge, Honey."

"I think what Holly is saying," Grace came to the rescue, "is that since GD has gone private, there's not the demands on people that there were when it was a Defense Department controlled entity."

"Yes! That's it!" Holly almost yelled, grateful for Grace's words.

"As I've had a chance to talk to some of the other AIs around GD," Tabitha commented, "I find that it's not just the people who are more relaxed. Sheriff Andy was commenting the other day that he has been called out on his duties much less. He and SARAH are able to spend a lot more time together."

"It sure is strange without Jack and Allison around," Grace observed. "I never thought they'd leave Eureka."

"Well, it wasn't Jack's first choice," Henry said. "He was needed in his capacity of liaison between alien technology and the population of Earth, by Chancellor Jackson."

"Speaking of which," Fargo said, "how're things going with Jack's grandfather?" Most people had heard of the older gentleman who's DNA said he was Jack and Sam's grandfather, although few people realized that he was, in fact, Merlin, the Wizard.

"My understanding is that it's going fine." The four in the car were all in the know of almost all stargate information, so Henry felt safe in elaborating a bit and Tabitha had some serious security subroutines which had been installed when Fargo was head of GD. "They're living in Atlantis, and Merlin has joined them. Apparently, he was the last chancellor of the city, before the Ancients abandoned it because of the Wraith war. It's coming home, for Merlin."

They were pulling into a parking spot in front of the popular cafe, so conversation went on hold as they got out of the car. Fargo assured Tabitha he'd be back soon, and they entered the eatery.

At a booth to the left of the door, Jack and Allison sat with the object of their conversation from the car. Merlin was dressed in a loose fitting shirt, jeans, and leather boots, which seemed to be out of place on him. However, he seemed completely comfortable with the look. He stood in respect to the newcomers, and waited until the ladies sat before he reseated himself.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Merlin," Henry said. "How is Jade doing?"

Merlin smiled at Henry. "The pleasure's mine, Dr. Deacon. Jade is adjusting. It's been quite a change for her, adjusting her diet from ancient Egyptian fare to Atlantis." He chuckled a bit at some memory. "Last night, she was quite affronted when she wasn't allowed to get a beer. You see, in ancient Egypt, beer and bread was a staple for commoners. I explained to her that the beer in Atlantis wouldn't be the same as she was used to anyway."

Holly asked, "Really? Why's that?"

"Beer in Egypt was brewed from barley bread. Rather than letting the barley sprout like is done now, a coarse bread was fully baked, then water was poured over it. This mixture was allowed to ferment." He took a sip from his cup. "It really was a very different drink. I'm afraid modern beer is quite bland by comparison."

Henry and Jack had a chuckle over the story. Then, Henry changed the subject. "Merlin," he said, "I'm really glad you're here. I've been working on some plans for a ship, and I really wanted to show it to you. I've got some questions on a re-fueling process that someone of your scientific knowledge could probably help with."

Merlin was intrigued. "Oh? I'd be happy to see the designs you've come up with. I have done a fair bit of space travel, myself, so ship design is something I'm keenly interested in."

"Well, this is something I just recently started playing with. I believe that if you could shield a ship securely enough, you could refuel it from within a star's atmosphere."

"Yes, Dr. Deacon. The Ancients did that with some automated exploratory vessels. They knew it wouldn't necessarily be possible for the ship to carry enough fuel for a long term run, and rather than having robots refuel the ship, why not have the ship refuel itself? It was an elegant solution."

Conversation stopped temporarily as their food came. Merlin asked for a refill of tea, and Jack and Allison both got more Vincespresso.

Henry finished with his sandwich, then took a clean napkin from the dispenser. He pulled a pen from his pocket, and started drawing on the napkin. The ship he was drawing was long, shaped somewhat like a spearhead. About three quarters of the way along it's length, it flared wide, and the superstructure got much taller. "This is the ship I've been designing," he said. "I haven't named it, yet, but I want to make it for both scientific purposes, and unfortunately but necessarily, for battle."

Merlin was staring at the napkin. His hand had frozen halfway to his mouth with the teacup in it. "Dr. Deacon," he said so quietly, his voice was almost a whisper. "We need to talk. Can you come to Atlantis with me? Now?"

Henry was unsure what was wrong, but he agreed. Then, the entire group went outside. Merlin had brought Jack and Allison over from Atlantis in a jumper, which was parked like a car, down the street a few doors. Fargo ran to explain to Tabitha that he would pick her up in a while, then they climbed into the jumper. Merlin explained that he wanted Henry to get anything he had, showing his plans for the new ship.

They stopped for a moment at GD, while Henry went to get the blueprints. He told Larry that he would be out for the rest of the day. Then they were on the way to Atlantis.

"What's going on?" Jack asked once they were on their way.

Merlin glanced back at Jack, then at Henry. "I know that ship, Dr. Deacon. It is very familiar, but we need to talk to Samantha first, before I tell you too much of what I know."

The three thousand mile trip to Atlantis took just under ninety minutes for the jumper, and Merlin would say no more about the ship until they arrived. Henry was quiet as he thought about the surprising turn of events his lunch had taken. Jack and Allison quietly discussed things with Grace in the back of the jumper. Fargo and Holly listened in, and occasionally offered an opinion. After a while though, their speculation ran its course, and everyone fell silent.

When they arrived at Atlantis, Merlin expertly guided the jumper into it's slip, and everyone got out. They descended to the control room where Mr. Woolsey was waiting for them.

"Merlin, may I ask what is going on here?" Woolsey asked. The two had actually become good friends in the last week, as they had being the head of Atlantis' government in common.

"Richard," Merlin answered. "I'm not really sure myself. Is my granddaughter back from Altair yet?"

"She's due any moment. We're expecting her wormhole anytime."

"Good. May I use the ancient database?"

"I really don't think you need to ask my permission to use that, Merlin," Woolsey observed.

"Thank you. When my granddaughter arrives, would you please escort her to us? Oh. Bring General O'Neill and Chancellor Jackson as well, please," Merlin said, heading toward the database room.

A few minutes later, Woolsey entered the database room, with four people in tow. Samantha and Jack O'Neill, Jackson, and Eric Marten.

"Daddy!" Holly shouted, almost throwing herself into Eric's arms.

"Hello, Holly," he said. "It is most gratifying to see you." He turned to Merlin. "Sir. Do you have any objections to me being here too?"

"Certainly not, Dr. Marten." He turned to the mayor. "Mr. Woolsey, I trust you can and will remain as well."

Merlin turned to Henry. "Dr. Deacon, would you please show my granddaughter and her husband the plans for the ship you are designing?"

Henry had carried the tube of blueprints under his arm, and now he opened the end, and removed the rolled paper. He unrolled it, and gingerly handed it to Sam, who took it and showed it to O'Neill. "Is this a joke?" O'Neill asked.

"I don't think it is," Merlin responded.

"But that can't be," Samantha said. "How could Henry be drawing plans for…. this?"

"Would someone please let us know what's going on?" Jack Carter demanded.

"Sure, Jack," Sam said. She turned to her grandfather. "Would you like to do the honors?" she asked.

In response, Merlin turned to the raised dias in the middle of the room. "Show me Destiny," he told it.

A hologram coalesced in midair, and Henry, like a sleepwalker, moved towards it. He got his face so close to the hologram that his nose was in danger of de-rezzing what he was looking at. He slowly circled the model three times before he looked up at Merlin. "This is my ship," he said, bewildered.

"Well," Merlin said. "It certainly appears to be. But what I'd like to know, is how you are drawing the plans for a ship that left Earth over fifty million years ago."

Jack Carter was looking from the model to Henry, to Merlin, then back again. "Wait a moment," he finally spluttered. "Those blueprints are of Destiny? The Destiny? The one Dr. Rush is on?"

"It would appear so," Merlin answered.

"But Merlin," Sam argued. "There's got to be a logical explanation for all of this."

"Which is what I've said ever since I started working in Eureka," her brother said sardonically.

Allison would have laughed, had the situation allowed for it. "There's one way to find out for sure," she said. "Aren't there some communication stones here in Atlantis? I seem to remember something about that in the briefing we received back in GD."

Samantha got excited. "Yeah! I could take Henry there, and he could see Destiny for himself."

"What would that prove?" Merlin asked. "Simply that the model here is very exact. There are pretty complete plans here in the database."

"I understand that," she countered, "But…" She faltered for a moment, then asked. "Do you have any idea at all why Henry would be making these plans?"

"In my travels around the universe, I've seen some very strange things. I've seen alien influences on human minds several times." He paused for a moment. "That is something we have to consider."

"These thoughts certainly seem like mine, Merlin" Henry said defensively.

"I understand that," Merlin said. "I simply said that the possibility exists, and that it should be considered."

Jackson had been quiet for awhile, but now he said, "There is also the possibility, Merlin, that you are the one influencing Henry."

"Yes," Merlin agreed. "That possibility does exist, but can you think of any possible reason I could have to feed Henry the plans for a ship fifty million years distant?"

"Disinformation," O'Neill said.

"Oh, yes," Merlin said, somewhat sarcastically. "I feed Henry the plans for a ship, for which you can easily verify the plans here, in Atlantis, for the purpose of misleading you, somehow which escapes me at the moment."

O'Neill shrugged his shoulders. "I agree that it's farfetched."

"Extremely," Merlin said dryly.

Fargo was thinking hard. "Even if Merlin was feeding false information about Destiny to Henry, what good would it do? We could check in the database here, or even use the stones to communicate with the ship itself. Besides that, it seems that he has been helping to defeat the Ori all along. If this is really Merlin, then we know that he wants to defeat the Ori just as much as we do, if not more. So the question isn't 'Is Merlin feeding disinformation to Henry'. It's 'Is this really Merlin'."

Henry was silent for quite some time, then he said, "He's right. So do we have any reason to believe that this is not Merlin?"

The answer, was simply, no. But honestly, there was no real reason to believe it was either.

"Jack," Sam said to her husband. "Why not take Henry to Destiny?"

"I don't see why not," O'Neill said. "Are you ok with that, Henry?"

Henry looked at Grace for confirmation. She nodded her head. Henry turned to O'Neill, beaming. "I'd love to go," he said.

Henry felt like he was falling endlessly. It was similar to the stargate, but not identical. Suddenly, he opened his eyes, and he looked around seeing a dimly lit room. There was one communication stone on the table in front of him.

He knew this room. It was in his mind, as a blueprint. He stood and looked down at his body. His hands were white, and he was a bit heavier than normal. He was wearing a red shirt with you are here emblazoned on it. He looked at a mirror on the wall, and saw the face of Eli Wallace looking back at him. He had been briefed on Eli, so he understood that he would find himself in his body. Sam had been unable to come with him, as only Eli remained awake. The entire contingent of people on Destiny were in stasis for the voyage between galaxies.

He stood, and walked into the hallway. Again, what he saw was entirely familiar, but he had only imagined it, never seen it complete.

He entered the bridge of the ship, and looked at the command chair. This too, he had imagined, and it looked just as his imagination said it should. He slowly turned, looking at the command center of a ship, until a few hours ago, he had thought was his design.

He stopped turning, and came to a decision. He left the command center, and almost sprinted to the power storage facilities. He walked to a console, and reached under it, and felt a switch. Up until now, he had been uncertain if he would find the switch there. He was completely unsure as to why it was placed where it was, but it was there. He gritted his teeth, and flipped the switch.

From deep within the bowels of Destiny, came a rumbling. It was a vibration that was almost a living thing in and of itself. Henry extracted his hand from under the console, and went to another one. He scanned the gauges on the screens. They showed a steady increase in the power available for the ship to use in speed and shields. As the power increased, Henry headed back to the bridge. When he arrived there, he walked over to another console. He looked at a tray to the side of the chair built into the deck. Then, he examined the console itself, flipped two switches, and the tray began to glow. He looked at the console, but the writing there was incomprehensible. "That's not right," he murmured. He wasn't sure which switch would do what he wanted. He searched his memory for the proper sequence buried there. He KNEW it could work. He just wasn't sure how to make it work without being able to read the displays. He touched a control. He didn't move it. Just paused. "No," he said definitively, then touched another and moved it. Next, he pressed another button and held it. "Destiny to Atlantis. Come in, Atlantis"

He released the switch and waited. He didn't have long.

On Atlantis, Eli was talking to Sam and Fargo. "So Henry actually has complete blueprints for Destiny?"

"They appear to be," Sam told him.

"Are they in English? Cause if they are, they'd be invaluable!" It was strange for Fargo to look at Henry's body, but hear someone who sounded so completely different speaking.

"I would imagine they would," Fargo agreed.

"How could it happen, though?"

Sam considered. "Think about it, Eli. Look at what the communication stones do. I'm not suggesting that someone is drawing those plans for Henry, but it's not beyond the realm of possibility."

"That's true," Eli conceded. "I've seen plenty of weird things over the past couple of years. This is just one more."

Fargo was about to say something when a shout came from Mr. Woolsey. He looked over at the mayor. Mr. Woolsey's mouth had dropped open, and he seemed to be struggling to speak. Finally, he managed to squeak out, "Ok. We'll…. We'll be there in a moment."

"What's happening, Mr. Woolsey?" O'Neill asked.

"Henry is calling Atlantis from Destiny."


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: We own neither Stargate, nor Eureka.
> 
> We have carefully gone through the following to make sure all references to time are correct.
> 
> Enjoy, and please review!
> 
> We do realize that the following chapter is somewhat shorter than others in this story. Bear with us, as this is an extremely necessary segment.

General Samantha Carter did a double take at Mr. Woolsey, but she followed after him as he started toward the control room. "What do you mean, Henry is calling from Destiny?" Her first thought was that this was some sort of joke.

Woolsey answered smoothly. "Just that. We are receiving a signal through the Quantum Teleportation Uplink. I'm not sure how he's doing it, but he is."

Fargo got instantly excited. "That makes sense! The communications stones use a variation of the Quantum Teleportation Uplink. It uses quantum wormholes to link people's minds. In theory, a person could send any type of signal through the communications stone pedestal."

Eli caught Fargo's enthusiasm. "So, I might be able to link my laptop with Atlantis? Or GD?"

"In theory, yes."

"Cool!" Eli said.

They arrived in the control room, and Woolsey moved to the communications console. "Is he patched into communications?"

Wordlessly, the man nodded. Woolsey looked toward the stargate and said, "This is Richard Woolsey speaking."

"This is Henry Deacon, on Destiny. I've been able to activate the ship's communication stone pedestal, and modify it's settings so it will send any structured signal through the quantum wormholes."

"That's incredible, Henry," Sam said.

Eli had a strange look on his face. Fargo nudged him. "Are you ok, Eli?"

"It's just strange hearing my own voice coming from the commlink."

Merlin nodded. "I can well imagine."

"If you can set this frequency to run dedicated communications to Destiny, I can probably start a download of Destiny's computers to Atlantis. It would be invaluable to find out what type of information it has stored. I've also managed to make Destiny's power reserves charge more completely. They were only charging to thirty-two percent capacity before. I think they will get to somewhere around seventy-eight percent now," Henry continued.

Merlin was curious. "So what will that do for Destiny's speed, Henry?"

"It should increase the speed by about sixty percent," Henry said.

Sam was confused. "I know you had the plans for Destiny in your mind, Henry, but how could you have done something so substantial so quickly?"

"I just knew where the right switches were, Sam. That's all I can tell you."

Henry and Eli had switched back, and Eli had patched in a laptop to the Atlantis computer network, so he was able to join into the conversation with the group.

"What I'm wondering," Sam said, "is if we could possibly transmit a beaming signal through the pedestals?"

"You mean beam the people on board Destiny back to Earth?" Merlin asked.

"I don't think we could," Fargo responded. "The bandwidth possible from a pedestal is simply not large enough."

"Fargo's right," Henry agreed. "To beam a person through, we'd need…" Henry considered for a moment. "Probably around ten times the volume of space for wormholes."

"I thought a stargate worked on a similar principle," Jack said.

"It's similar, Jack," Merlin explained, "but in actual practice, they're quite different." Sam looked on in amazement as Merlin then went on to explain how an Earth built pedestal worked.

"Do you remember, on the tour of GD," Merlin said, "When Zane was explaining the quantum teleportation connection that GD has with the DDD? That is exactly the same type of connection the pedestal has. With that connection, nothing physical is transported. It takes advantage of the natural wormholes that exist connecting everywhere to everywhere else on a quantum level. These wormholes open and close spontaneously, and are large enough to transmit only a tiny fraction of the information needed to even get this communication signal through to Eli on Destiny"

"Then how are we talking to Eli?" Jack asked the obvious question.

"Ah," Merlin acknowledged. "We can talk to Eli because there are millions of wormholes opening to where he is in a square meter of space. This easily allows the bandwidth necessary to transmit a signal to him. When these wormholes close, others open spontaneously and the pedestal then takes advantage of them, and the cycle keeps going on.

"A stargate, however, opens an artificial wormhole, and then keeps that wormhole open. With the power available from naquadah, it can keep the wormhole open for only thirty eight minutes. We can plug a pedestal into a home outlet. Even an American one."

Fargo put in for Jack's benefit, "American outlets are one hundred twenty volts and European are two hundred forty."

"I know that, Fargo!" Jack said. "I think what confuses me is, why we can't take advantage of all the wormholes in a cubic meter of space instead of a square meter? That would be a lot more wormholes."

"True," Henry said, "But a cubic meter of space on a quantum scale is infinitely larger than a square meter."

"Yes," Sam agreed. "But you said it yourself, Henry. We'd only need about ten times the volume to be able to transport a human."

"That's right," Merlin agreed. "The pedestals don't work with a flat plane even now. Let's see. If I understand the programming correctly, by multiplying the z axis variable by ten, you would quite literally increase your wormholes and consequently your bandwidth by ten."

Sam was staring open mouthed at Merlin. "How do you know that?"

"My dear," he replied, "I told you before, I've been watching you and your siblings for quite some time."

Sam eyed the wizard for a bit longer, then turned to Fargo and Henry. "This is top priority at Altair until further notice. I want to get those people back from Destiny as quickly as possible. And I want them back alive."

Later, Merlin was in his quarters in Atlantis when a chime sounded from his door. "Come in," he called out. The door opened, and Eric Marten walked into the room. "Dr. Marten, a pleasure to see you!" Merlin said, genuinely happy to see him.

"Hello, Merlin," Marten said. He stepped into the room, almost cautiously. His hesitancy was not lost on the wizard.

"Well. I must say, I haven't seen you so cautious in several millenia."

Marten stopped and stared penetratingly at Merlin. "I assure you, Merlin, that I have reason to be cautious. This is not your time. You should not be here."

Merlin strode over to a chair, and sat down. Sitting forward in it, he replied, "Dr. Marten, I could say the same about you. This is no more your time than it is mine. Nor is it your daughter's time."

Marten flinched backward as if slapped. "I have made this my time, Merlin. Just as I have made it my daughter's time. She has no idea who she is, nor that she is not from this time period. She has no memories of anything other than her life here. She is to be left out of this."

Merlin smiled and gestured to another chair. "Please sit down, Eric. Let's talk about this. I have no desire to hurt Holly. She's a wonderful girl. As well, I have no desire to expose you as anything other than a normal Terran from this time period. I think the way it is currently said is, 'Your secret is safe with me.'"

Marten relaxed a bit and sat a bit easier in his chair. "Then, Merlin, I ask you again. Why are you here?"

"Well, Eric, that's an interesting question, and an even more interesting answer." Merlin leaned back in his chair to explain, but the chime on the door sounded again. "Come!" Merlin called.

The door once again opened, and this time, Chancellor Jackson entered. He saw Marten seated, and asked, "Am I interrupting?"

Marten started to say something, but Merlin cut him off. "No, Chancellor. Come in. Have a seat. This concerns you as well." Again, Marten started to say something, and again, Merlin cut him off. "Chancellor Jackson is one of us, Eric. He knows that I am not a simple Ascended Ancient." He motioned for Jackson to have a seat, which he did.

Jackson looked at the wizard and asked, "May I, Merlin?" He was somewhat surprised to hear that Eric Marten was anything other than a scientist, but he had also learned, long ago, to take Merlin's revelations in stride. Besides, he could feel the difference emanating from Marten now that the scientist's guard was down. Merlin nodded, and Daniel proceeded to explain to Marten.

"Several years ago, I had occasion to meet with Merlin. I was already like him, but I wasn't aware of it. When I used the ancient repository of knowledge, Merlin pulled me out of time and trained me. When I came back to the present, thousands of years had passed for me, but no time at all for my colleagues. I explained my new knowledge by saying that Merlin had merged his consciousness with mine, but in reality, that wasn't the case. He had simply told me what I needed to do."

Marten nodded. "I can see that you are telling me the truth, Chancellor." He turned to Merlin. "Sir, I ask a third time, then. Why are you here?"

Merlin nodded, then looked Marten in the eye as he explained. "There is a man, from my time, who has gained great power. He has discovered how to ascend. He was already a very powerful man, but now, his power is much greater. This man is destined to become like us. It is inevitable, as is his eventual death. How much damage he does in between those two times is what we must limit."

"I understand, Merlin. However, the universe will go on, no matter what this man does."

"That is true, Eric. However, the people he will effect are my family. My grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. And my friends, like Daniel Jackson, here. And Teal'c."

Marten shook his head. "And each of those people are protected because of who they are, Merlin. I ask a fourth time. Why are you here?"

Merlin had been sitting forward in his emotion. Now he leaned back in his chair. "I never could outlogic you, Eric. In my time, this man of whom I speak, has abducted my grandfather, who is not like us. This man's one goal is to defeat my great-grandfather, and by abducting his son, this can be accomplished. His point of view is that my great-grandfather, The Commander, has hurt him so badly that he must be destroyed at all costs. It doesn't matter who he hurts to do this. As long as The Commander is destroyed, all is well from his point of view."

"And he knows that The Commander will find his son." Marten nodded. "I can see the logic, but as I said before, the universe will continue. I sympathise with both you and The Commander, but to meddle in things not of our own time."

Jackson spoke up. "What is time for us, Dr. Marten? Besides, if you take that point of view, isn't that what this man that Merlin speaks of is doing? And by your very presence here, aren't you doing the same thing?" Jackson paused for a moment then asked a crucial question. "What does The First say about this situation?"

Merlin didn't respond, but Marten slowly nodded his head. "It is a foregone conclusion that if The Commander thinks this is a good idea, The First will support him." Marten turned to Merlin and said solemnly, "I will help you in any way I can, Merlin." He got up and walked to where Merlin was sitting. Merlin slowly rose to his feet, and Marten told him. "In the past, before I became what I am now, I was willing to sacrifice myself so you would survive. I would be willing to do the same thing again."

Merlin nodded. He gulped as though he was holding back tears, then gave in and enfolded Marten in an embrace. "It is good to see you again, my old friend," he told the scientist.

After Marten had left, Merlin and Jackson continued to talk. "You told me so much, back then, and I followed you, almost blindly. I trusted you because I trusted the legend of Merlin. Now, Sir, I need to know more."

Merlin poured himself a cup of tea from the china pot sitting on a table beside him. "Would you like some tea, Chancellor?" He asked, not quite ignoring the request for information.

Jackson sighed, and sat down. He had remembered how frustrating it could be trying to get information from this man. He also knew, that if he let things run their course, he would learn what he was asking. "Sure, I'd love some tea," he told the wizard.

Merlin held out a cup to him, and said "Now I very much doubt that you do want tea, but you want information from me, so you're willing to 'play along' so I'll give you what you want."

Jackson blushed and said nothing. Merlin had him figured out.

Merlin smiled slightly as the Chancellor squirmed. Then he said. "I'll tell you, Daniel, but you know that events have to happen in a certain sequence. The battles to come will cost much to all of us.

"I said before, that the birth and death of one like me… like us… is a fixed moment in time. That cannot be changed, even by one such as us. Therefore, the events that I have seen, will happen regardless of what we say or do. As far as these events go.

" In my time, I saw this man become like us. I have also seen his death in the future of your time. Beyond that, I can't tell you much of what will happen."

Jackson nodded slowly. "As Marten said, the universe will go on." He looked at Merlin closely. "You said that the battles to come will cost all of us. How?"

"Daniel, I cannot be terribly specific because I simply do not know the answers. What you and I have is both wonderful and a curse. We know that this man is coming. He will be here sometime in the future, so we have to get ready. But it's a curse because we know that the battles will be there, and we will lose friends." Merlin stood and paced for a moment before stopping at the window. He looked out for a moment before saying, "Is that really that much different than what the average human being knows?" He turned back to Jackson. "I know that many people will die in the coming times. Whether I know that because of this man or just because of entropy, the outcome is the same. Many people will die in the coming times."

Jackson stood and paced in the opposite direction. He caught sight of Merlin in a mirror and their eyes locked. "The difference is that we know some of these people will die horribly instead of peacefully."

For a moment, Merlin's eyes seemed to be filled with infinite sadness, as if all the people he had seen die, both horribly and otherwise in his incredibly long life had come back to haunt him. In that moment, Jackson saw the depth of feeling that this man had for others. He saw why Merlin couldn't simply allow the Ori to overrun everyone in Avalon. He saw that Merlin had been fighting the same battle continually for what would be an infinite number of lifetimes for a normal human.


	12. Chapter 12

The next morning, Fargo and Henry started working on the stone pedestal, trying to come up with a way to increase the bandwidth capable of being transmitted through it. They found that essentially, Merlin was correct. Multiply the Z axis by ten, and you would increase the bandwidth by ten. But it wasn't that easy. There were power considerations as well. To increase the bandwidth was not a matter of multiplying by ten when it came to power. It was more like a hundred.

Elsewhere at Altair, the production of the GD-305s was increased. Sam spoke to Henry, and they decided that a they should build some of the 302s and 304s at Altair as well. To this end, Bismark from Area 51 was brought to Altair to head up the production for the ships he knew. He sat down with Henry and they transferred the blueprints into the mites for construction.

Jay Felger was also brought on board at GD and Altair. He and Bill Lee were an indispensable team, who worked on engineering projects together. Jay had an idea for a series of orbiting space stations that would take advantage of many of the features of the GD-305s. It would have the same armaments and reactor core as the 305, as well as a supply of F-Drones which could be launched almost immediately for defensive purposes. He showed the plans to his partner, Bill Lee, and together they refined the ideas until they had a workable proposal to show to Sam.

"How many would we need to build?" she asked.

"We are thinking probably five, each spaced approximately eleven thousand miles apart in equatorial orbit," Lee explained.

"One at each pole would also be a benefit," Felger added. "Along with some in orbit of the Moon."

"The entire setup would be controlled by Atlantis," Lee said. "Each unit would be configured to relay control signals to the other stations. But each unit would also be able to act independently if the connection to Atlantis control is lost."

Samantha looked over the plans again, looking for potential problems. She knew the idea was Felger's and that Bill Lee had ironed it out. Felger could tend to be an idealist, but he also got lost somewhere while translating his thoughts into reality. Bill Lee could look at them and turn them into workable plans.

Sam finally finished perusing the plans, and told the duo, "GD recently finished their version of a Lantean Control chair. Add in the control circuitry for that chair as well as the redundancy you have, and you've convinced me. I'll speak to the General about it."

Felger paused a moment, then exclaimed, "We can do that!" He turned back to his computer. Sam just shook her head and headed towards her office. It was almost time for her to head home for the evening. This evening, she would be travelling to Atlantis as she and Jack were having dinner with the chancellor. To that end, she stopped in at Henry's office to let him know she would be leaving. He wasn't there. In fact, the only person she could find was Walter, whom she met in the corridor on the way to the stargate.

"Henry went back to GD, Ma'am. I was just coming to let you know he needs you there quickly."

They started back the way Walter had come and he filled her in on the way. "The Asuran Elizabeth Weir contacted us. It seems the Asurans are seeking asylum on Earth. General O'Neill and Chancellor Jackson are both on their way to GD. They would like you on there as well."

"Alright, but you're coming with me," she told him as they ran. "You've got more experience recognizing radio signatures than anyone in Eureka."

He stopped in front of the DHD and dialed Earth. As the wormhole formed, he asked, "Do you think it may not be Weir?"

As they started towards the now stable event horizon, she said, "I don't know, Walter. That's why I want you there."

"Yes ma'am," he said as they stepped through.

"Good! You brought Walter," O'Neill said when he saw the Captain step out of the gate. "Check out this signature," the general told him.

Walter was at the computer in a flash, cross referencing the signal with the ones stored on the hard drive. "It looks legitimate, General," he said after a moment. "From what I can tell, it really is Elizabeth Weir."

O'Neill turned to face his commander-in-chief. "Talk to me, Daniel. Do we allow her on Earth?"

Jackson shook his head. "I don't want replicator nanites here, but they're asking for asylum."

The general couldn't believe his ears. "You're not thinking of letting them come here?"

Rather than reply directly, Jackson looked to Henry. "Have you got Spencer here?"

Henry nodded. For Sam's benefit, as well as Walter's, he explained. "We've had success in disrupting nanites acoustically. With a low enough tone, their molecular bonds are disrupted, and they are unable to communicate with each other. Spencer is our acoustical expert."

Jack O'Neill was flabbergasted. "What makes you think they'll work with Asurans?"

"We don't know for sure, General, but it's a good bet it will. Basically, it uses the same principle as Sam's anti-replicator gun."

O'Neill shook his head. "Not good enough for me, Daniel," he told the Chancellor.

"Sir." It was Walter.

"Yes, Walter?" O'Neill asked.

"Sir, in Dr. Donovan and my research at the Altair site, we have studied ways of disrupting construction mites, and we've found that a problem inherent in all nanites is extremely low wavelength acoustic energy."

"Sam! Have you been corrupting Walter? He's starting to talk like you!"

"Incoming wormhole!"

Everyone in the room turned to face the gate as the familiar outward burst came from the aperture. "Who is it?" O'Neill asked as the iris closed.

"Sir," the tech said, visibly shaken. "This wormhole is originating from Atlantis!"

"That's impossible!" Sam exclaimed, racing to the computer.

The tech backed off, and shook his head wonderingly. "Ma'am, whether it's impossible or not, I've confirmed my findings three times."

Teal'c had been standing back, and now said ironically, "Samantha O'Neill. Why do you persist in labelling things as impossible that are clearly happening at the time of your labelling?"

Sam looked at the digital signature coming through the open gate. It showed her brother waiting to come through. Suddenly, Samantha heard a voice in her head. Sam. Merlin says you're in section five right now, wondering what is going on with the gate. Could you please convince them to open the iris? It was Jack's voice in her head, alright.

In Atlantis, Jack stood by his grandfather and Dr. Marten, ready to go through the gate. He wasn't sure how Merlin had opened the gate to Global Dynamics, but he could feel his sister's confusion at the gate being open through their mental link. It was strange. Normally, he could only hear her voice in his head if they intended communication, but when Merlin was around, things intensified. He could only assume that it was because of Merlin's power that this happened.

For her part, at GD, Samantha stood in utter confusion, hearing her brother's voice, and sensing his presence on the other side of the gate. "Open the iris," she said to her husband. "It's Jack, Merlin, and Dr. Marten. It's safe."

O'Neill wasn't convinced. "Ok. It's safe with Jack or Dr. Marten, but I'm not so sure about Merlin."

Sam shook her head. "Jack, I'm not sure we could stop Merlin coming here if he wanted to. Remember how he first showed up with Jade."

O'Neill nodded slowly. "I know. I'm just not convinced about him yet."

Jackson placed a hand on O'Neill's shoulder. "I think it's safe to say that none of us quite trust the old guy, Jack, but if he had wanted to destroy us, this would be a pretty elaborate way of doing it, ya know? Besides, I have the feeling he could just walk in here if he wanted to."

O'Neill stood for a long moment, looking at the closed iris of the stargate, then finally turned to the tech. "Open the iris," he said simply.

Sam communicated to her brother that the iris was open, and a moment later, Carter, Merlin, and Marten stepped through the gate and down the ramp. Merlin stepped up to O'Neill and said. "A moment of your time if you will, General."

O'Neill couldn't believe his ears. "Kinda busy here, Merlin."

"I am aware of that, Jack, but before you make a huge mistake, I'd like a word with you."

Jack visibly bristled at Merlin's words. "What makes you think I'm going to make a huge mistake?" Anyone under O'Neill's command would shrink back at the tone of voice he was using. When O'Neill was in such a mood, he wore his air of authority like a cloak.

Merlin, however, didn't even flinch. He stood his ground, and even though he was shorter than O'Neill, he stepped up to the general and stood toe to toe. His voice, although it didn't raise in the slightest, took on a level of authority that said he knew that anyone who heard him would be wise to listen, and obey, or the consequences would be dire. "Because I know the Asurans, and I know Elizabeth Weir."

O'Neill considered the wizard. He recognized the tone of command in Merlin's voice. It didn't come from arrogance, nor did it come from an inflated view of himself. It came from a well placed confidence in his ability to understand the situation and act correctly because of it. "Ok, Merlin, I'm listening. What do you suggest?"

Someone else may have seen O'Neill's change of course as him backing down. Merlin, however, saw it for what it was. The general had assessed Merlin, and seen that he was an asset to be drawn on. There was no backing down in O'Neill at all. He was taking in another bit of info before he made a decision, exactly as Merlin would have done.

"The Asurans will follow Elizabeth Weir as long as they see that she has their best interest at heart. And for her part, Elizabeth will do whatever she can to see that the Asurans are treated correctly. You can utilize both of those constants to the advantage of Earth. Offer them the one thing no one else can give them."

"I'd love to, Merlin, but what is it?"

Merlin smiled and gestured towards Holly Marten. "Global Dynamics can give them bodies that they can transfer their minds into. If that is done, it will accomplish two things. Number one, they're no longer nanites, which will ease your mind considerably. Number two, they will very likely be able to ascend, which is their chief goal."

Sam shook her head. "No. We can't give them bodies. At least not ones that look like their own."

Merlin, however, had an idea. "Loki," was all he said. Slowly, Sam and Jackson started smiling.

O'Neill stood looking back and forth between Sam and Merlin. "What am I missing?" he asked.

"With all the genetic experimentation that Loki did on humans, between him and the Asurans, they should be able to come up with bodies that look like they want them to," Sam explained.

"We should have a copy of Weir's DNA in the Atlantis computers," Jackson continued, "so a body for her should be no problem."

Henry was becoming caught up in the excitement as well, "And once we have the DNA, we can print a body, exactly like we did with Holly."

"So you want to print bodies for the Asurans using the GD body printer?" O'Neill was still unsure whether he liked the idea or not.

"Jack," Merlin said, "I assure you that the Asurans will not cause any problem as long as they have this opportunity."

"See, that's what I don't get. Why would they suddenly not cause any problems whatsoever?" Jack asked. "That doesn't seem to follow logically."

Merlin nodded in agreement, "I understand, but talk to them and offer this solution to them. I think they'll surprise you."

Jack looked to Jackson who nodded. Next, he turned to his wife who nodded as well. "Jack?" he asked his brother-in-law.

"I think we should try, Jack," Carter said, "at least give them the opportunity to say yes or no."

O'Neill sighed. "I hope we don't regret this," he muttered as he turned to the gate. "Tell them to establish a wormhole to us," he told the tech.

The wormhole opened a few minutes later and the Asurans stepped through. A dark haired woman, apparently in her mid twenties, was the first person through. Behind her, were seven more people and then the wormhole collapsed. "Where's Elizabeth?" O'Neill asked.

The young woman who came through first spoke up. "I'm Elizabeth Weir," she said.

Remembering what he had read of the Atlantis reports, O'Neill sighed heavily. "Oh, yeah. Right," he said.

The Asurans were led to a conference room in Section Five, by Henry. He, O'Neill, Sam, Jack, Jackson, and Merlin went into the room with them and the door was shut.

Jo, as head of GD, had been summoned the moment Merlin opened the wormhole to GD from Atlantis. "So those people that just went into that room with our friends are made of nanites?" she asked Teal'c as they stood looking at the closed door.

"Yes, Jo Lupo. And those nanites have very aggressive tendencies that, in the past, they have not been able to curb despite their best intentions."

Jo nodded. "And we just let them waltz into that room with some of our best friends."

Teal'c looked down at Jo, a small smile playing across his lips. "Should the Asurans become hostile, I will hear, and a closed and locked door, even in section five, will not stop me from entering that room."

Jo folded her arms resolutely, then glanced up at the big Jaffa. "Not a problem, Teal'c." She looked at the door, and with a smirk said. "I've got the unlock code for that door."

Teal'c's mouth broke into a wide smile, as she looked up at him again and grinned. Then, they took up positions, Teal'c standing with his back against the door, and Jo across the hall, facing him. It didn't matter how long this meeting took. They would stay here as long as necessary.

Inside the room, the six humans sat across the table looking at the eight Asurans. Elizabeth Weir sat in the center, directly across from Jackson.

Weir came directly to the point. "We formally request asylum on Earth," she said to O'Neill.

Jackson commented, "That's an interesting request, as it's humans with whom you've been at war. Now you request asylum from us?"

She glanced at Jackson, then back to O'Neill. "Then we ask for safe harbor. Whatever it takes."

O'Neill put up his hand to stop her, then said. "Whoa… Whoa… We need some introductions here."

Weir shook her head, "I know who you are."

"Yes, but you don't know our positions now. I'm Brigadier General Jack O'Neill, in charge of Homeworld Security. I'm not the person you need to talk to. In fact, I'm probably the last person you want to talk to. The ones you need to convince are Earth's High Chancellor, Daniel Jackson, and his chief of staff, Jack Carter. Jack is in charge of deciding if off-world artifacts, and that includes you, are allowed to remain on this planet." O'Neill stopped for a moment while his words sank in, then he continued. "And, of course, you know my wife, Dr. Samantha Carter. Next to her is… Merlin. And over here, we have Dr. Henry Deacon."

"Wait a moment. Merlin?"

"You look different than you did when I first met you, Dr. Weir. But that was in an alternate timeline, of which you have no memories. You've only heard the stories from the version of you that my son, Janus, placed in stasis.

"So you've met me, but I've never met you."

"I met you when you were in a human body. This form of you, I have never met."

"And the me that you met, didn't have the life experience that I've had, so really, you don't know me at all, do you?" It was a challenge, but one that Merlin met head on.

"Dr. Weir. Whatever you have become, the essence of your being has not changed. You are still Dr. Elizabeth Weir. Nor do I fear you. My son created the Asurans."

Weir recoiled at that. "Janus created them?"

"Janus was an incredible scientist, but it wasn't he who created the Asurans. My older son was an equally gifted scientist, and he was the one who went to Asura and worked tirelessly to defeat the Wraith, and by doing so, he created the Asurans. But the Terrans have a way of creating true human bodies for you. You can be placed into real human bodies, and then, you can ascend."

One of the other Asurans stepped in. "My name is Lia, and I have to say, we've tried to ascend before. For us, ascension was a living hell. We imparted our minds into subspace as a form of ascension, and after a time, it was horrible. How do we know that this ascension you speak of is any different?"

Merlin spread his arms wide. "You don't. But let's take stock, shall we? What are your choices? Drift in space as nanites? Live as a human with the possibility of ascension? Continue as nanites with no possibility of ascension and be subject to your programming? I know what I would choose, but you're not me. Maybe you prefer to not have the option."

"We didn't say we weren't willing to try," one of the other Asurans said, angrily. "Lia was just pointing out that we've tried ascension before and it didn't work."

"And so you give up?" Merlin asked. "It didn't work once so you decide never to try again?" He turned to Weir. "The Elizabeth Weir I knew was not a quitter. When I didn't allow her expedition warned one way, she decided on another and she saved her people! Now, you come here, to the very people who are the sworn enemies of the Asurans, and you ask for their help. You are still trying the long shot to help your people. Well, here is the long shot for your people. You have the opportunity to try again. All you have to do is take it."

"How do we know you can even transfer our minds to an organic body?" Lia asked.

"That's simple," Henry said. He looked at Merlin who nodded. "We've done it before."

"My daughter's mind was caught in a computer while her body died," Eric Marten explained. "Henry and another doctor at Global Dynamics, Zane Donovan, printed a body from her own DNA, and transferred her mind into a processor placed into the brain of that new body. From there, her mind was able to inhabit it. There have been negligible side effects."

"I'm guessing that you have my DNA here," Weir said, "but you said, Merlin, that I was doing this for my people. How do we create bodies for them?"

Sam took over. "With the help of Loki, the Asgard, we should be able to create bodies that very closely match the physical characteristics you now possess. The scientists here at GD have considerable skill. Add the skill of Loki and yourselves into the mix, and I'm certain that we can make bodies that look however you want."

Weir looked at each of the humans in turn, trying to guess what they were thinking. She realized that she had become so much an Asuran that she couldn't guess what a human was thinking any more.

The Asurans were left in the room while the humans made contact with the Asgard.

After Loki arrived, he was brought to the room where the Asurans were still seated around the table. They had sat there for two days, unmoving. Jack Carter, O'Neill, Teal'c, and Jo had fast wound through security recordings of the room. After several minutes of absolutely no motion in the room, Carter had commented, "That's just too weird."

Jo had glanced at the men. "It just creeps me out," she said.

Teal'c and Jo moved the Asurans to a lab that had been outfitted for them to work in. Loki was escorted to the lab by Thor.

Allison and Henry walked in behind Thor and Loki.

"Dr. Weir," Allison announced. "Your human body is ready."

"No," Weir said flatly.

"No?" Allison asked. The refusal concerned her. She wondered why Weir would hold out now.

"Please don't misunderstand me, Dr. Carter. I'm not refusing permanently. I just don't want to move my consciousness to a human body until the rest of my people are moved. I'm assuming that we can hold off on transferring me until then? The human body will be ok?"

"Yes," Allison said, unsure of how to proceed. "The body will be fine. We will simply keep it on life support until you're ready for the transfer." She adjusted her lab coat, then said to Loki, via Thor, "When you have the DNA, let me know, and I'll program the printer for the bodies."

"Thank you, Dr. Carter," Thor said. "My people are very interested in this technology as well. We feel that it may be able to solve the problem of the degradation of our DNA. I would relish the opportunity to speak with you about it."

"I'll tell you what, Thor," she said. "Why don't you join Jack and me in Atlantis for dinner tonight."

"I would be honored, Dr. Carter," he said, inclining his head gravely.

Allison smiled broadly. She really liked Thor. He was extremely polite, and intelligent far beyond the human definition of the term. Of course, the discomfort it would put Jack through would be amusing to watch also.

Later, rather than take the two hours for a jumper to transport them to Atlantis, Thor simply used his beaming technology and they were on the veranda by what used to be the mess hall. Now, it was 'manned' by Virtual Vincent, and held the name of Cafe Diem the 2nd in holographic letters above it's doors. They would return here later for dinner, Allison told Thor.

Allison and Thor walked through the city, hardly attracting a second glance. A few months ago, and a Roswell Gray would have sent people running away screaming, either in terror or in excitement. But now, with Odwin and Lya both permanent residents of Atlantis, people were getting used to the idea of extraterrestrials. Of course, if people had realized that this was the actual Thor of legend, he probably would have garnered much more attention.

When they reached the Carter's rooms, Jack and Merlin were waiting for them, both in suit and tie. Jack had developed a true friendship with the older man, and whether he was, as he claimed, Jack's grandfather or not, the bond had been formed.

"Hello, Thor," Jack said, standing up as Allison and Thor entered the room. He shook hands with Thor, and gave his wife a kiss.

"Good evening, Supreme Commander," Merlin said, also shaking hands with Thor. He greeted Allison as well, and she excused herself to change out of the suit she had worn during the day.

Jack, the wizard, and the Asgard sat down to make small talk.

"So Ally tells me you're interested in the GD body printing. Do you really think it will be able to stop the genetic degradation of your people?" Jack asked.

"Most certainly it will," Thor replied. "The major problem that I can see will be creating genetic templates for each of us."

Merlin nodded his agreement. "Do you have any of the Ancient Asgard DNA available?" he asked.

"We have DNA from one Ancient Asgard that we can use as a template, but that would not widen the genetic pool very much."

"No, I would say not," Merlin agreed. "However, you could use DNA from any number of other races and splice it into your own DNA to widen the pool."

"Isn't that how Jurassic Park went down the tube?" Jack asked. "By splicing in other DNA, they added some of the traits from amphibians into the dinosaurs, and it didn't turn out very well."

"Yes, but that was a movie, Jack," Ally said walking into the living area. She was in a black dress, and was clearly ready to go out. To Thor she asked, "How long have you been cloning yourselves?"

"For Millennia, Dr. Carter. Even the Ancient Asgard DNA we possess is from a clone, but at the time he was placed in stasis, the problems inherent in cloning were not yet reversible."

"It seems amazing that the Asgard have lasted as long as they have with the cloning problems," Allison observed.

"We have told people that we evolved on the planet Othala," Thor told the group. "That is not strictly true." He paused for a few moments as he collected his thoughts. "The Asgard are actually a combination of two races who settled on Othala. Legend has it that both of the races had been through cataclysms which left very few of them. They chose Othala as their new homeworld, and after time, began to intermarry."

"So you are actually a hybrid race," Allison said. "That would explain a lot."

"Yes," Thor said, nodding. "One of the races was composed mainly of warriors. I have a sword from that time in my quarters. However, we know little of them.

Allison was surprised. "You have the sword, but you don't know much of the people?"

"Some legends have come through time, much of them in song," Thor explained, "but it is doubtful that the legends are true."

"The Terrans have found that many of their legends were very close to reality, Thor," Merlin observed. "I would not be quick to discount the legends that you have. Often, they are closer to reality than we initially think."

Thor considered for a moment. "This is true. You, yourself, were a legend to the Terrans, and it turned out that you were real. I will consider what you have said, Merlin. There likely is truth in the legends of my people."

Jack agreed. "You're a legend here on Earth, Thor. Your people are the stuff of legends. You can't just dismiss the legends of your own people as having no basis in fact when you are a legend to so many others."

"So since you're a hybrid race, adding in some more genes shouldn't be a problem," Allison said, bringing the subject back to the body printing.

Thor blinked, as if it was a chore to come back to that subject. "But what race will donate DNA for our cause?"

"You, Thor, have been a hero to the Terrans for fifteen hundred years," Merlin reiterated. "I think it likely that the Terrans will be willing to donate DNA to save your race."

"What goes around, comes around, Thor," Jack added. "Or to put it another way, you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. That's a saying we Terrans have."

After a bit more talk, the group went to Cafe Diem the 2nd, and resumed their conversation over dinner, with the additions of Daniel Jackson and Vala.

"You know," Daniel said at one point, "I have a feeling that the Asurans will be okay, but what's to prevent them from becoming as they were before?"

"Well hopefully," Jack answered, "They'll have what they want now, and they won't be so aggressive. I'm thinking they will probably start focussing on becoming ascended, and that will be that."

"You could be right, but let's say for the sake of argument that you're not. How many times in fiction, have we imagined some horrible war between man and his creations? I just can't help wondering if there's a way we can take precautions and prevent another war with the Asurans."

Jack considered for a moment, then responded. "In most of those fictional stories, the war was started because the AI just wanted to survive. Or if not that, to obey it's ultimate programming." He paused for a moment, reflecting. "Off the top of my head, I can't think of any of those shows where that wasn't the ultimate problem."

"I think you're probably right, Jack," Daniel answered. "Merlin, historically what caused the problems?"

Merlin smiled. "What makes you think we had problems, Daniel?"

Vala laughed. "Come on, Merlin. Replicators?"

"True," he admitted. "The human form replicators caused serious problems. They were a branch of the Asurans, you know. My son brought some of them back to Avalon with him, to continue to work on them and defeat the base code he had ingeniously woven into the very fabric of their being."

"If your son created them, and he couldn't defeat that base coding, how can we?" Allison asked.

"You will be removing that base coding from the equation. You see, the reason it couldn't be defeated before, is that it was physically a part of the nanites and not actually computer code. It is more fundamental than that. But by printing them new bodies, that aggression is removed, and they are able to expand away from that base code."

"You hope," Allison said flatly.

Merlin held her gaze as he answered. "I know, because I studied my son's work. He showed me how he had constructed the Asuran architecture to utilize several hard coded instructions." Suddenly, he couldn't hold her eyes, as if the remembrance pained him. "That boy was always trying to please me; to win my approval. What he didn't know is that it just wasn't necessary. I loved him regardless of what he did." Merlin looked up at his grandson, and there were tears in his eyes. "He was a genius, you see. But I was a leader of people. He thought that he needed to follow in my footsteps to please me. He tried, but couldn't succeed at that. It was probably the one thing he couldn't do well. When he found his niche, he excelled as a scientist, but he still tried too hard to please me."

"You were proud of him no matter what he did," Vala said.

"Yes." The word came out of his mouth sounding almost like a gasp. Then, the wizard seemed to compose himself and he looked at Daniel again. "Chancellor. I would suggest that you set up some laws concerning the rights that a sentient AI is entitled to. Make them ironclad so that no one can violate those rights. If a machine is alive, and all of you would agree that someone like Sheriff Andy of Eureka is, then they should be afforded the same rights as an organic life form."

"In our society, we didn't set out to create sentient machines," Thor said, "But we had protocols in place to govern what happened with the occasional critical mass sentient AI."

"Critical mass?" Jack asked.

"Yes. We found that occasionally, an AI would gain such complexity that it would become sentient. When this happened, we had laws in place that would guarantee certain rights for such a machine."

"And what were those laws, Thor?" Jackson asked.

"We guaranteed the right to live for such a machine, Chancellor. Basically, these laws guaranteed the right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, to borrow a phrase from your own native constitution. Obviously, we couldn't guarantee that such a machine could go wherever it wished, because such a machine might be, and oftentimes was, built into a structure. This would, of course, preclude the possibility of movement, so we had to exclude that wording from our own 'constitution'. But when such a thing was possible, the AI had that right."

At that moment, Virtual Vincent arrived with dessert, and the conversation took a different course for the rest of the evening.

The next morning, Daniel brought in Eric Marten to help define the laws he was determined to make.

Under the law, an AI developed within the Terran federation would be considered a child until such a time that it could pass a test showing that it should be considered an adult. These terms were loosely defined, and flexible, as each AI was different. Daniel had to agree with Marten that it was a shame this same law would never be approved for human children.

Specifically mentioned in the law were the Asurans and any body printed individual. As well, all GD created sentient artificial intelligence were considered to have rights.

Eric Marten wanted to make sure his daughter was protected in her identity as Holly Marten, and the law was worded so that an individual retained the identity of their former selves if they were body printed, provided that the original person could be proved to be dead. This was generally accepted if a corpse could be produced. However, in the case of Elizabeth Weir, this was not as easy. No one had ever seen a body, so proving that Dr. Weir did indeed deserve the rights of the original, was not so easy.

"Actually," Jackson pointed out, "We have a certified death certificate for Dr. Weir. She died soon after the expedition arrived at Atlantis.

Eric shook his head. "You and I both know, Chancellor, that the Elizabeth Weir that died then, is not the same Elizabeth Weir who eventually became an Asuran, and soon will reside in a body print based on her human DNA."

"No, Eric. She's not, but we also both agree that she should be given the rights, and the identity of her former self, and as this law stands now, she wouldn't be able to."

"That is true, but do you not think that this would be setting a dangerous precedent that we might come to regret later?"

Jackson smiled. "Part of writing laws that govern a society is placing the loopholes where they need to be to accomplish what you want to be accomplished."

Marten laughed. "I would only accept that if you are trying to follow in the 'great tradition' of American presidents and lawmakers."

Jackson started laughing as well. "It's definitely the tradition, isn't it."

The law was completed, and passed, and Weir was considered the Elizabeth Weir because there was a death certificate. Those passing the law understood that there became two Elizabeth Weirs after Janus' plan for rotating the ZPMs on Atlantis worked, and that she was not technically the same Weir that died. However, because she had done so much to further the cause of humanity, that technicality was overlooked. The Asurans themselves, were treated very well, much akin to someone who defected from another country. They were treated very well, but not necessarily trusted.

Because the body printed copies of the citizens of Eureka were sentient artificial intelligences, they had all the rights and responsibilities of any person, even if those responsibilities were as a criminal. Because it was shown that the minds of the Eureka citizens had not been duplicated to create these copies, there was no way for them to assume the identities of the originals. Therefore, they were revived and put on trial for their crimes.

This aborted attempt at identity theft resulted in the copies being exiled to the Aschen exile planet.

With the new laws regarding body printed individuals, it was inevitable that the technology would come to be considered a life saving technique. When it was used in this way, a person could sign a document transferring their identity to a body print upon successful completion of the mental download and upload to the print. Thus, as people used to opt to be cryogenically frozen upon their death, they now could opt to be transferred to a body print. The process was extremely expensive, but for critically ill people, it was an option.

Eli Wallace, on board Destiny, was a candidate for the process. No way had been found to expand the bandwidth far enough to use an Asgard beam to bring him home. Very soon, he was going to die.

Merlin communicated with him shortly before he would die. "Eli. I would like to try something to save your life."

"What's that, Merlin?" His voice was shaky because of shivering.

"I would like you to install this subroutine I'm uploading to you into Destiny's main computer core."

Eli made the connection to Destiny's computers from his laptop. While he was working, he asked, "What's this going to do, Merlin?"

"This will allow the computer to download your consciousness when you sit in the control chair, Eli. Further, it will send your consciousness to the Atlantis computer core once it finishes downloading it. We can print you a new body and place your mind in it once that is done."

"You know, Merlin. That sounds like something I'd rather not do, but seeing as how I don't seem to have many options….." His voice trailed off, then,"Ok, the subroutine is installed. I'm getting real cold, so I'll go to the control chair. See ya soon, Merlin."

A few minutes later, Merlin and Allison watched as an enormous amount of data started being sent from Destiny to Atlantis.

"Now what?" Allison asked him.

"We wait until it's all down, then we upload him to a new body."


	13. Chapter 13

A few days after Eli had been downloaded, Thor contacted Earth with some startling news. He had received a signal from a ship outside the Ida Galaxy, and because of the danger of the Ori, he wanted to make sure what it was. With that thought in mind, he had taken his vessel to the location of the ship and made a startling discovery. It was Destiny! He had studied all he could regarding the Destiny expedition, and was both impressed and annoyed with the actions of these Terrans. Humans were still very young and had much to learn, and he wished they could manage it faster than they were currently doing it.

Regardless, he positioned his ship over Destiny and towed it into hyperspace. He linked his computers with Destiny's and proceeded to look over the data that had been collected. It was truly impressive. It would take millennia to look through it all.

Combining the data from both Destiny and Columbia, Henry's ship, just might accelerate the growth of humans. Certainly, their understanding of the universe would expand exponentially.

How Destiny happened to be here, though was a bit of a mystery. The ship had taken a somewhat lazy curving course, but it was not enough to account for the ship to be back near Avalon. He started his computers working on the problem, and after a good portion of the trip to Avalon, the computer reported back to him. It seemed that the course Destiny had flown, all the while taking it to the next closest galaxy, had been somewhat of a large crescent. In the intervening millennia, the natural movements of the galaxies had placed Avalon and Ida close to Destiny once again. It seemed impossible, but there it was. Thor was skeptical, but he couldn't ignore the evidence of his own senses.

In Global Dynamics, Eli Wallace woke up, very confused. He had been sitting in the interface chair on Destiny, and the next moment, he was laying in a rather comfortable hospital bed. He wondered if he was dreaming. He knew his death was very close. He had shut down the life support aboard Destiny to the absolute minimum he possibly could. I wonder what kind of doctors they have in GD? he thought. WHAT?! How did I know I'm in Global Dynamics he wondered. Then it hit him. Like the Alterran knowledge repositories, Destiny was connected to a single database, in this case Atlantis, through the quantum wormhole link. He had downloaded his mind into the ship's computers, then the ship downloaded his mind to Atlantis. From there, it must have been sent to GD, and they had completed his body. He was definitely in his own body, but it wasn't his, now was it? He swung his legs off the table, and looked down at himself. He was in much better shape than he had been previously. He didn't have an ounce of extra fat on him. That makes sense. This body was printed from my DNA, not a scan of my own body. He'd have to see if he could keep from getting out of shape again. Maybe he'd take up martial arts. He tried a couple of experimental moves of Bantos, then stopped. What? How do I know Bantos, or even know ABOUT Bantos? It was a form of martial arts from the Pegasus Galaxy. Teyla Emmagan had taught John Sheppard how to fight in this way. Now how do I know that either? He realized that on his trip through the Atlantis Database, he had picked up knowledge stored there. I wonder what other knowledge I've acquired.

He started searching his knowledge, then realized that there was no way he could hold all of this knowledge in his mind. He would have to expand it. He felt the processor in his mind getting warm. He simply didn't have the capacity to store it all. He looked around him. No one was in the room, so he guessed that it was the middle of the night. He walked over to the door. Locked. Back at the computer terminal, he accessed some of the knowledge that he had available, and with a minimum of keystrokes, he had unlocked the door.

He went down the hall until he got to the animal lab. He had already jimmied this lock from the computer terminal in his room. He looked around and walked through. Quickly, he found the nanoids that Taggert used for repairing wounds. He withdrew a scoop of them and deftly broke into the computer that was used for programming them. He reprogrammed them quickly, and then poured the scoop into his mouth. He didn't even have to swallow, as they began working into the interior of his body. It tickled as they made their way into his sinuses, and then through the membranes in them into his cranial cavity. He almost sneezed some out when they were in his sinuses, but the sensations were gone almost as quickly as they began.

The nanoids quickly lined his spinal chord, and moved inside his brain, creating new links to the photonic processor. They studied the processor and upgraded it, based on Eli's preprogrammed instructions. The upgrades gave him direct control over the nanoids, as well as the processor and it's operations. Eli placed his hand into the canister of nanoids and instructed the ones in his body to disassemble those surrounding his hand. He instructed his own nanoids to rebuild the disassembled ones and optimize them for data storage and retrieval. These new and improved nanoids took up residence throughout his body, and connected themselves to his nervous system. Utilizing the nanoids in his brain, a connection was made to these new ones, allowing him to access them digitally. His nervous system itself was upgraded to allow for much faster connections to his muscles and organs, as well as the nanoids.

Eli had not removed his hand from the canister, and as he thought of possible upgrades, more and more of the nanoids were being cannibalized. He finally realized that the possible upgrades he was imagining were becoming a reality in his body. He had fantasized about things like night vision, improved strength, and even the ability to turn off his standard vision in favor of infrared, thus giving himself a form of x-ray vision, and belatedly realized that the nanoids had taken him at his word and faithfully executed his orders.

He listened intently to make sure no one was around, and tried out his improved vision. He could clearly see whether anyone was outside the door to Taggert's office. He scanned down the hallway before he opened the door, and again, no one was there. He turned up his hearing and started moving stealthily down the corridor. He arrived back at his room and climbed back into bed. He had used an enormous amount of energy in the past few minutes, and now he was exhausted. He finally allowed himself to feel the drain and when he did, it was too much for him. He passed out.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself under guard. There were ten extremely large men with even bigger guns staring at him, unblinkingly and unsmilingly. But the individual that captivated his attention was General Jack O'Neill. He was sitting in a chair, idly fingering a Zat gun, and looking very, very unfriendly.

"Hello, Eli," he said. "It's been awhile."

Eli started to respond, and found his throat to be very dry. He sat up, and saw that there was a glass of water sitting beside his bed. He looked at O'Neill who nodded his approval. Eli reached out and picked up the glass. His hand was shaking hard. He managed to get the glass to his lips and took a sip. The water tasted good. He did a quick chemical analysis of it and found that there were a couple of sedatives mixed in with the water. He smiled to himself. Wait a second…. Chemical Analysis? How did he? Must have been another benefit of the nanoids. He found his voice. "Hello, General. It certainly has been awhile. How are you doing?"

"Well, Eli," O'Neill replied. "You see, I've got this little problem. Seems a real bright kid did a real dumb thing, and now I have to figure out what has to be done about it."

"General, it was either use the nanoids like I did or die. Seemed a shame to get back to Earth and end up dying anyway." He lay back down and closed his eyes.

"Yeah, well. That would have been a shame, Eli, but it would be a shame if we had to ship you off-world too, because you have little electronic bugs all over inside you."

Eli sat up, swung his legs over the side of the bed, and suddenly ten very large, imposing weapons were centered on his face. "Whoa, guys! Easy! Easy. Put down the guns, ok? I'm not doing anything. Just facing the general here." Once the weapons were lowered a bit, he continued to O'Neill. "General, do you remember when you had the ancient repository of knowledge inside your head?"

Jack nodded. Then…. "Wait a minute! How'd you know about…"

Eli cut him off. "I don't know how it happened, General, but when I was downloaded into this body, I ended up having a repository in me too. That's how I know about your mishap with the repository. But instead of having just an ancient repository, I have all of Destiny and GD in here too." He tapped his forehead as he said it. "If I hadn't done something, General, I'd be dead by now. You had the repository in you. You know that. Wouldn't you do anything to save your life?"

"Yes, Eli, I would. And I understand that, but it doesn't change the fact that you did something really stupid. Now if I could, I'd ship you off planet in a heartbeat. However, we have a few new laws now, and the fact is, you're needed." O'Neill stood and motioned for the security team or marines or whatever they were to accompany him. He turned back to Eli and shook his finger at him as he spoke. "But if you step one tenth of a millimeter out of line, I will take great pleasure in disassembling you, cell by cell, and nanite by nanite. Do I make myself abundantly clear?"

Eli's eyes were wide as he nodded, hard. This was one man he did not want to get mad, and he already had. The best he figured he could do now was not make things worse.

In another part of Eureka, in an abandoned warehouse, dust had settled. White sheets were draped over everything, and no one had entered the building for several years. The sole occupant of the workspace had been motionless for several years. He lay on a gurney, covered by a sheet. He was not moving, not even aware of the fact that he couldn't move.

A white light appeared beside the gurney. It grew in intensity until it lit every corner of the room, then faded completely out, all in less than half a second. When it was gone, standing beside the gurney was Merlin. He took one step forward so he was standing, looking down at the gurney. he reached out and drew back the sheet and looked into the young face. It was the face of a young man with blonde hair and dead eyes. Whatever spark had once existed in those eyes was gone.

Merlin felt the motionless man's skin. It was cold. A single tear ran down the wizard's face. "Hello Callister," he whispered. "I'm your grandfather."

Callister Raynes was an android who had been built by Nathan Stark. He had malfunctioned and finally broke down completely. Nathan had been crushed as he considered the android to be a son to him. Callister became the basis for every GD android to follow, but his own processor was burnt out.

Merlin looked at the equipment in the room, and as his eye fell on each piece of equipment, the sheet flew upward and folded itself, each landing in a neat pile on a table that was now uncovered. Power came on in each piece of equipment as the sheets flew off. Finally, Merlin's eyes came to rest on Callister. The android gasped, as power coursed through him. Then he sat up. "What happened?" he asked. His eyes took in the room and the man who was supporting him. Somehow, he knew who this man was. "Merlin?"

"Yes, Callister."

Callister was confused. "Where's Dr. Stark?"

Merlin turned away from Callister and walked to the other side of the room. He stood there, shuddering for a few moments, then he turned around. Callister was still sitting up on the gurney, but had swung his feet over the edge. He was completely dressed and looking intensely curious. "Callister, the man you knew as Nathan Stark, the man who created you… Your father… was my son. Three years ago, he was killed in an accident repairing the timestream."

"I see. But you said the man I knew as Nathan Stark. You mean that wasn't who he really was?"

Merlin sat down beside the young 'man'. "This is hard to explain, Callister. Yes, he really was Nathan Stark. But my people are different than other humans."

"How are you different?"

Merlin took a deep breath. "What I am about to tell you must remain a secret between you and me." Callister nodded his agreement and Merlin continued. "My people are called the 'Q'. We are quite powerful. I have given you some knowledge of what has been happening lately. Can you access that?"

Callister nodded, and began sifting through what Merlin had put in his mind. The information included the attack by the Aschen, knowledge of the Ori and Goa'uld and what had happened in Eureka. "So people think you're simply an Ascended Ancient, but you're not."

"No, Callister. I'm not."

"So what was my father?"

Again, a deep breath. How to explain this? "Nathan was a Q as well, Callister. But at the time, that knowledge was not available to him."

"So is he really dead?"

"Nathan Stark is dead, Callister. The essence of who he is, however, is not. You see, when a Q dies, it becomes a fixed point in time, unable to be changed no matter what may change in time around it. The death of my son has not occurred, but he is not here in this time."

"So why were you crying if he's not really dead?"

Merlin smiled at that. "You ask many questions, Callister. My son… I'll call him Nathan for simplicity's sake…. Nathan had been what we refer to as being fobbed. When this happens, a Q doesn't remember who or what they are. Some of my people do it voluntarily, while other times it's done forcibly because someone needs to learn something."

"That sounds harsh," Callister commented.

"That may be, Callister, but sometimes the circumstances require it. However, Nathan Stark was a good man, and I would have liked to have had an opportunity to speak to him without the overtones of other parts of my son's personality tainting it."

"But if he's so powerful, couldn't he 'become' Nathan so you could talk to him?"

Merlin laughed. "I doubt he'd do that for me."

"Why not?"

"Because there were times when we didn't get along very well. The occasion of him becoming Nathan Stark was one of them."

Callister considered things, then turned the subject to a different direction. "Without my father, what will happen to me? Won't the military demand that I be handed over to them?"

Merlin pulled over a stool and sat down. "Much has happened since you… died. There have been new laws passed on Earth, protecting artificial intelligences. You will be protected by these laws, Callister. That is why I chose now to repair you. Because I know that the people in power will not allow harm to come to you. As well, I claim you as my grandson since Nathan was my son. That claim makes you cousin to some very influential people. You will be fine."

At the Altair shipyards, Destiny had been docked. Henry stood gazing at the ship. He had been aboard, but not in his own body. The young man standing beside him had owned the body that he had used, but it wasn't the body that now stood beside him. In all probability, that body was still seated in the control chair of the ship.

The two men were approaching the ship on one of the antigravity scaffolds of the Altair shipyards. As they approached, the sheer size of Destiny became apparent. It was HUGE! The scaffold nudged up against the side, at an airlock. Henry lowered the rail and stepped up to the side of the ship. There seemed to be no power at the control panel, but Henry knew if he touched it in a certain way, it would activate. "Eli? Would you do the honors?" He stepped out of the way to let Eli touch the panel. He was a bit hesitant to touch the ship. If he was the designer, it would recognize him. If he wasn't, he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

Eli touched the control panel and it lit up, recognizing his DNA. The door slid in, and to the side. Eli crossed the threshold and the corridor inside lit up.

Henry was hesitating. From behind him came a flash and a voice. "Go ahead, Henry. Let's see what the ship has to say." It was Merlin. Henry spun and the wizard was standing on the scaffold behind him.

"How did you get there, Merlin?" he asked. He was learning to not be surprised of anything Merlin said or did, but this one surprised him.

"My apologies for inviting myself along, Doctor Deacon. I admit that I have a certain interest in how Destiny reacts to you."

Henry paused for a moment, thinking about what Merlin had said. He nodded, then turned around and walked over the threshold. "Hello, Doctor Deacon. Welcome aboard. Much has happened since you were last on board. A summary of the automated logs are available on the bridge for your review."

Merlin had followed Henry on board and caught his eye. "That still doesn't mean that I designed this ship, Merlin," Henry said.

"Bah!" Merlin exclaimed. He held his head up and in a clear and resonant voice asked, "Destiny! Where were you built, and by whom?"

"Destiny recognizes Merlin, also known as Moros, also known as J…"

"Halt playback" Merlin said. "Answer the query!"

"Destiny was designed by Doctor Henry Deacon of Earth. Destiny was built at the Altair Shipyards by Doctor Deacon, and the Altair Shipyards crew. Destiny was built as the prototype ship for the science version of the Valhalla class vessel."

"I think that answers our question, don't you, Henry?" Merlin was smiling, while Henry was standing reeling.

"Merlin, I understand this but I don't. I know that that is the truth." He clenched his hands together over his heart. "I know that what the ship just said is the truth, but…." His hands came up in the classic gesture, "How? It doesn't make sense!"

Eli had been standing a few feet away from Henry. "Henry, I've gone over many of Destiny's records. They're all in my head now after…" He trailed off. "Anyway, apparently what happened to Destiny, or what will happen to the Destiny we will build here… This Destiny many millions of years ago, is that an explosion in hyperspace sent it millions of years off course. I can't explain further, but suffice it to say it will happen a few years in the future."

Later

Once Henry made the connection between Destiny and Atlantis, both computers fulfilled their programming and began a full interchange of data. Now they were almost fully synced with each other. The minds of Ginn and Amanda Perry had been stored in Destiny's computer core, and were therefore synced with Atlantis. Once there, they were transferred to GD.

"We need to get them body printed, Henry!" Eli Wallace was trying to convince Dr. Deacon that Ginn and Amanda needed to be moved out of the computer, but Henry was having none of it.

"Eli. I understand where you're coming from," he patiently explained, "but you have to understand something. Your need to reinforce your body and brain with nanites is something I would like to avoid when we transfer their minds."

Henry was walking back and forth between computer terminals, making adjustments here and there, working to ensure a smooth download of mind to body, as well as a pure genetic sample for each body. Eli was following behind him, expounding on his arguments for immediate body printing and transfer.

Finally, Henry stopped and turned around, irritated that Eli didn't seem to be listening. "Look, Eli. I know you love Ginn. I get that. But don't you want her to have the best chance of being revived?"

Eli stopped, and recoiled as if slapped. "Of course I do."

Henry placed a hand on Eli's shoulder. "Then let me do this right. I don't want her hurt either."

Eli exhaled, looking at the floor. Then he met Henry's gaze. "It's just that when I transferred from Destiny to Atlantis, I took a copy of everything - And I mean everything - from Destiny's computers. I have a copy of Ginn and Amanda Perry in my mind too, Henry. To keep from going insane, I partitioned them off in two separate parts of my brain, but I know how much they want to get out of the computers and become real people again." Eli's gaze was imploring, and even though Henry wanted to ask about a hundred different questions about his revelation, he refrained.

"You got it, Eli" He said. "Let's get to work. You can help a lot."

Eli grinned and together, they got busy.

All over the world, people had heard of Destiny and how she had been so far away from Earth. Those people who had been aboard the ship were famous, and were known for their heroism and bravery in the face of adversity. They received requests for public appearances as well as interviews for radio and newspapers. The major problem was that they were in quarantine for two weeks, and were a captive audience themselves for such requests.

What saved them having to laboriously answer every request was a revelation from Lya of the Nox. The Nox scientists went to work immediately on the toxin spread by the Aschen. They soon found a treatment for it. It was not actually a cure, but it would make almost all humans immune to the effects of the toxin.

The Nox provided a formula for their treatment. It was distributed as a virus which would strengthen the human immune system by a factor of approximately seven. The only problem was that it would work wonderfully for someone who was healthy because of tritonin. For someone whose immune system was already compromised because they refused tritonin treatment, their recovery would depend on how weak they were. If they were too far gone, nothing could be done.

For those who agreed to use the treatment, production of the virus was begun immediately. One of the nice things about it was that as a virus, it behaved like one, and almost immediately became communicable. It became an outbreak, and like so many plagues before, it swept through the Terran civilization, but rather than destroying, healing all it touched.

An unexpected side effect of the Nox Virus was that it made pliable the mental development of Terrans again. The intellectual development that had all but stopped as they grew up, started, and intellects were able to expand. People's lifespans lengthened, and their strength increased. Most of these effects levelled off at or near three times the previous levels, leaving the Terrans much closer to Alterrans. Lifespan, however, could not be judged accurately until time had passed for people to die naturally. It was estimated to be somewhere around three hundred years, but only as a guess. The estimates were based on current health and dietary standards, but no one was really sure.

Those on board Destiny had not been exposed to the toxin, and having been asleep for so long, they needed to gain strength, therefore, they remained in quarantine to allow for time. The people on board unanimously agreed to accept the tritonin, then the Nox Virus.

After the Nox Virus had taken hold in their bodies, they were allowed into a special section of Altair that was sealed off from the rest of the complex. There were windows in place, made from transparent aluminum armor, through which the Destiny crew could see out of their section. On both sides of the windows were intercoms, and after much deliberation, the crew's families were allowed to travel to Altair through the Atlantis gate. Harlan would greet each person through the gate with "comtraya!" and treat them all as if they were long lost friends, and then direct them to the complex where they could see and speak with their loved ones.

On one such occasion, Matthew Balic was escorted to Altair by his foster parents. The boy sat down on one side of the glass while Sergeant Greer went to get his friend, Lt. Scott. A few minutes later, Lieutenant Matthew Scott sat facing his son. For a long moment neither father nor son said anything. Then, Scott said, "I'm sorry I wasn't here for you, Matthew."

The young man nodded. "It's ok. I understand now."

"I just want you to know that I would have liked to be. If there was any way I could have been, I would have."

The boy nodded and his eyes teared, but this time, he couldn't find the words to speak. He wasn't sure of his mother's reasons for keeping the two apart. He only knew that she had. He hadn't questioned this when he was younger, but now that his mother was gone, and his father was here, he wondered why. All he saw was that his father had gone places and seen things that he couldn't even imagine, and he wanted to follow in his footsteps someday.

In the Global Dynamics infirmary, Eli Wallace was being studied by Thor. The Asgard was scrutinizing the nanites that Eli had used to increase the capacity of his mind. The young man had insisted that without them, he would die, and General O'Neill, hovering nearby, wanted to know if that was true.

Thor was working with Janet Fraser, who had taken over for Allison Blake as head of GD's medical section, when the Carters moved to Atlantis. They were studying the structures which had been built in Eli's brain by the nanites. While the improvements were impressive, they were not enough to hold all of the information Eli had assimilated from Destiny's computers, as well as those in Atlantis, and GD.

While Eli had been moving through the computer systems, he had absorbed all of the information in them and it had become a part of his mind, almost as if fused. It was not removeable. Thor confirmed this as he was examining Eli.

"The knowledge has become irretrievably connected to Mr. Wallace's mind. I can find no way of separating the two."

O'Neill grimaced. "And what about the bugs, Thor?"

"The Nanites appear to be completely benign in action, and completely necessary in function. His mind does not have the storage capacity for the amount of information within it, without the Nanites acting as extra storage space. Information has even been stored in nerve clusters throughout his body. If Mr. Wallace were to lose a finger, part of his knowledge would be lost."

Janet Fraser looked up from her instruments as a messenger came in. He walked up to Fraser and spoke quietly to her as Thor was speaking with O'Neill.

At a lull in their conversation, Fraser spoke to Thor. "Supreme Commander. They are ready for you in the body print section."

Thor turned to face her. "Thank you, Doctor Fraser." He turned to O'Neill. "I would be gratified, General, if you would accompany me. Mr. Wallace as well."

All four headed out the door of the infirmary. They descended through several levels of GD until they reached Section Five, where the body printing had been set up for the duration, while the Assurans and Asgard received their new bodies. Eli Wallace had been placed on an extended leash, so to speak, and was allowed throughout GD and to Altair while he was waiting for the exam he had just received. Now, with Thor and Dr. Fraser's assurance that his nanites would not cause a problem, he would be free to come and go from GD as he pleased.

In the Section Five infirmary, Zoe and Allison were waiting for Doctor Fraser to arrive. Neither one worked at GD, but both were included in the body printing process as they were some of the only doctors on Earth with clearance high enough to allow them in this room.

Laying on the table was a male body in a beige jumpsuit. It was of average height, with fair hair, and quite muscular, but there was something odd about it. Not something that would scream into your consciousness that this was not a human body. It would just disconcert you until you either had to ask what it was, or would just need to get away quickly because it was just too weird. All those entering the room understood, and it didn't bother them in the least, but someone on the street… they would feel the effect.

What produced the effect was the size of the head. It was larger than a human's would be, but just enough to be noticed subconsciously. At first glance, it would look completely human, but then you started to feel that it was different.

"Are you gonna grow a beard and let your hair get long too, Thor?" O'Neill asked his friend.

"I suppose I could wear armor and carry Mjolnir around as well," Thor said. He did not smile, but O'Neill knew if he could have, he would have. This was confirmed when he asked everyone present, "Where is the nearest place to get a winged helmet?"

Henry Deacon and Douglas Fargo were just walking into the room when Thor asked his question and Henry stopped and turned back to Fargo. "I think Fargo might have one you can borrow, Thor," he said, grinning wickedly. "I think he has an entire collection of Viking armor."

"He's been known to use Thor as his persona in role playing games," Zoe said, beaming at the Asgard. "Now that you're here in the flesh, he's been using Zeus."

Fargo was turning red until Thor turned to him. "I have heard it said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Doctor Fargo. I am honored."

"Thank you, Thor." Fargo's eyes glinted as he added, "And if you'd like to use my armor, you're welcome to anytime. I even have a replica of Mjolnir if you'd like to try it."

Another person entered the room as Thor was preparing to be transferred mentally to the print. "What's she doing here?" O'Neill demanded.

"I asked her to be present, Jack" came a familiar voice from the doorway. O'Neill turned and saw his former boss and friend, George Hammond. "I thought Dr. Weir should be allowed to be here since she helped with the designs of Thor's new body."

Thor turned his head, now wearing a helmet originally designed to allow people to share thoughts. It had since been adapted to allow the computer to download a person's mind directly from their brain. He inclined his head as far as it would go, acknowledging the presence of the two newcomers. "Thank you for coming, both of you. If all goes well, I shall see you again in a few moments from there." He pointed a finger at the body on the table and sat back. He took a deep breath and let it out. "I'm ready, Doctors."

In addition to the helmet, Thor's small body was fitted with several monitors. No one was entirely sure how this would work out, transferring his mind to the computer. Once that was done, however, things should be much easier, as transfers to a printed body were becoming rather routine. It had worked remarkably well with Doctor Weir's people and Ava Dixon, the first Terran made replicator. As well, it had been improved on by the NPCs in their bid to take over the identities of the Eurekans. This would be slightly different as the DNA in Thor's new body was not entirely human, but it was close enough that everyone involved was reasonably comfortable making the transfer now.

A low hum filled the room and Thor's body seemed to stiffen slightly. He had closed his eyes at the beginning of the procedure, and they opened wide for a moment, then closed slowly. The transfer took almost four minutes, then the life monitors on him levelled out indicating that his body was in a coma. Zoe was watching a screen that showed the size of the file containing Thor's mind and it truly amazed her. Finally, it stopped growing, and she told Allison, "Ready."

Allison pushed a button on a keyboard in front of her, and the file started transferring to the processor in the brain of the living body print on the table. The processor was running a program which would distribute the information to different sections of the brain that it was embedded within. This transfer took considerably longer than the four minutes it had taken to transfer Thor's mind from his cloned body. Finally, after close to twenty minutes, the transfer into the body print was done. Now, the brain within the print started working, making connections that had been made in his previous brain, as the intellect that had just taken residence started gaining momentum. Then, the eyes opened and Thor gasped. He sat up and took great shuddering gasps of air as if he had been holding his breath for a long time.

He sat gasping for several moments, until Zoe was afraid he'd hyperventilate. Finally, his breathing slowed and he slumped in a sitting position. After about thirty seconds, Zoe stepped forward. "Thor?" she asked hesitantly.

Slowly, he sat up straight and raised his head. He opened his eyes, and fixed them on Zoe. "Doc-tor Zo-e Car-ter," he said carefully, enunciating each syllable. His mouth was a different shape now, and considerably more flexible, and he had to be very careful how he spoke. Zoe smiled, and Thor looked at each person in the room in turn. "In-ter-es-ting," Thor enunciated. "It ap-pears as th-th-though Asgard f-f v-vis-ion and human v-vision are slightly dif-ferent." His new voice was considerably lower than it had been. He looked at the jumpsuit he was wearing. "I am seeing colors dif-ferently now." His speech was becoming clearer and more smooth. "I had known that Asgard f-vision was more attuned to the higher wavelengths than human vision, but now that I am in a body with primarily human DNA, to see the way you do is fascinating."

O'Neill was concerned about the hard time Thor was having with speech. "Dr. Fraser? How come he's having trouble talking?"

Thor made a small sound in his throat, that exploded out his nose, and into a laugh. "I'm sorry, O'Neill. I didn't mean to laugh. It's just that I can now." He laughed a bit more. "I assure you, I'm not drunk, General. My mouth is a different shape now, and it will take a bit of time to get used to it. I'm doing better already, as you can see."

O'Neill was at first taken aback by Thor's laughter, but he quickly started chuckling. "I guess that makes sense." He cocked his head while he looked at Thor critically. "You're looking pretty good, buddy. New look suits you." He smiled broadly as he held out his hand for Thor to shake. The Asgard reached out, and almost flinched at Jack's touch, but then, gripped and carefully shook hands. "Nice to meet the new you, Thor!" O'Neill exclaimed.

Later that day, O'Neill and Sam were seated with Teal'c, Jackson, and Vala in the GD cafeteria. They were quietly talking when two people joined them. George Hammond, and Thor. All five of the former SG1 members stood at the sight of both men. "Sit down," Hammond said.

"Please don't stand on my account," Thor said, not sure if he was the one they had stood for or not. Indeed, none of the SG1 team could place a higher priority on either of the two, so they simply sat.

"General," O'Neill said. "I wanted to apologize to you for my reaction earlier to Dr. Weir. You too, Thor," he said, addressing the Asgard.

"There is no problem, O'Neill," Thor said.

"I understand your hesitancy when it comes to replicators, Jack," Hammond answered. "I feel the same way, but we have to extend an olive branch to these Assurans. We need to treat them well, even if we don't completely trust them. Otherwise, we'll be in a cold war with them forever."

O'Neill nodded. He understood what Hammond was saying, and George Hammond was a man whose opinion he valued more than any other. He thought of Hammond as a father figure. "I understand, Sir," he said. "Merlin tells me that they don't have the base code programming which was such a problem before now that they're in human bodies." He stopped for a moment. "It's strange, but I trust Merlin. I don't trust the Assurans though."

A week later...

Henry Deacon was working on his ship. Ever since he had stepped on board Destiny and found that it knew him as it's creator, he had felt like he was in a dream. Right now, he was working on the minds of Gin and Amanda that were in the compute core. They had both been synced with Atlantis and GD, but the minds that were in Destiny were somehow separate from the rest of the ship's data. It was found that when a mind was run through the normal compression algorithms used in the data sync, the segregation of data was lost. Belatedly, they realized that if they had brought Eli's new body to Destiny to upload his mind from it's computers, he would have been separate from the rest of the data. Now a protocol had been initiated to keep a mind partitioned off in the computer it had been downloaded into, so it would not be synced throughout the database as had been done with Eli, Gin and Amanda's. In effect, there were now several copies of the three of them, each one given special status by the laws created by Daniel Jackson and Eric Marten. For Gin and Amanda's printed bodies, they would use the minds still within Destiny's computers.

The copy of Eli Wallace that was in Destiny, was still segregated from the rest of the computer core. It was still Eli as he had been in his own body. The question remained, however, what to do with this Eli?

Elsewhere at Altair

The rest of the "crew" of Destiny was finally released from their confinement at Altair and they were allowed to be reintegrated into society again. Before they went through the stargate to Earth, they were debriefed on what had happened to their home in the time they had been away.

Rush, after hearing of the destruction on Earth, decided to continue working away from Earth. He spoke to Henry about Altair. Henry, however, had no position available for Rush at Altair, so he referred him to Harlan. Harlan was delighted to allow Rush to live and work at Altair, learning all he could about Harlan's people and technology.

Colonel Everett Young finished his debriefing about his time aboard Destiny on the same day he finished his enforced isolation at Altair. However, he wanted to spend some time on Earth rather than stay away as Rush did. During their time on Destiny, Young had developed a reluctant admiration for Rush, and vice versa, so Young was happy for Rush that he was able to work with Harlan, reviving the culture and technology of the Altair inhabitants.

Unfortunately, Young's marriage was over because of his long running affair with TJ, the woman who had been the closest thing to a doctor Destiny had. As well, TJ was carrying Young's child.

Because of the way Young handled things on board Destiny, he was offered the newest of the GD-305s, the Wayne Kwan.

TJ was promoted to the rank of Captain, and was placed in charge of the medical department of Nathan Stark. Although she and Young were prepared to marry, she wasn't able to be under his command, so unable to serve aboard the Kwan.

Eli Wallace went to work for Global Dynamics and quickly started working for Zane Donovan in Section Five. Because of his work with Henry Deacon, he had been Section Five cleared from the beginning. He and Henry began work detailing the Destiny Class ship into a warship, called the Valhalla Class. It would be very similar to Destiny, but would have more of a wedge shape than the graceful lines of Destiny.

Chloe Armstrong and Matthew Scott married one week after they returned to Earth. Matthew quickly obtained custody of his son. Chloe started work at Altair, helping with the shipyards. She still had advanced intellect due to her abduction by the Nakai. Matthew joined the airgroup based out of Colorado Springs. The airgroup there was attached to the first of the battlestations designed by Felger and Lee. The Air Force Academy was the training ground for the first space capable air wing.

Sergeant Greer was assigned to Nathan Stark as the Marine Detachment Officer, under the command of Teal'c.

Destiny herself was placed into a specially built slip in the massive shipyards. In a mind bending twist, it was recognised that after the ship had been rebuilt and refitted, she would be removed from the slip and her keel laid so construction could begin on her.

The question came up of the descendents of Destiny still living a few galaxies away. Thor volunteered to take his ship and a small crew to 'rescue' them as the galaxy was soon to be overrun by the berserker drones.

Daniel Jackson conferred with O'Neill and Carter, and they agreed that if the Novans wanted to come to the Milky Way, they were more than welcome, although living on Earth might not be a good idea because of the Aschen virus. Thor handpicked a group of people including Duncan Glennallen, Jack Carter's brother-in-law, as a medical doctor and Eli Wallace as a goodwill ambassador to the Novans.

The trip to the galaxy named Novus in honor of the inhabitants took slightly over two months and during that time, Thor, Duncan, and Eli became quite good friends. When they arrived at Novus, the three were sitting in Thor's private quarters sharing a good meal. They were listening to Eli expound on some of the adventures he had on Destiny, when Thor received a communique saying that a large ship had been sighted and contacted. The crew of the ship had answered in English, and when they heard that Eli Wallace was aboard, their curiosity was piqued.

The ship, while large, was still somewhat smaller than the O'Neill. Most of the passengers were in stasis, but the commander was beamed aboard the Asgard vessel directly to Thor's quarters. Seeing Eli, he became positively white, and had to sit down.

"I see you recognize Mr. Wallace. May I ask your name, Sir?" Thor asked politely.

"My name…." the man stammered. "My name is Reger Wallace. I'm the commander of the generation ship you see out there. Who are you?"

"I am Thor, Commander Wallace. I am the Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet. Welcome aboard my vessel, the O'Neill. You are a guest here, and we would like to offer our assistance."

"What assistance are you offering, Supreme Commander Thor?" Wallace's color was starting to come back, and it was apparent that he wanted desperately to ask how Eli Wallace happened to be present, but he refrained.

Thor caught Duncan's eye and nodded approval. "We're prepared to offer you medical aid, if any is required. We would also like to offer you a place to live."

Wallace broke into a rueful smile. "I'm sorry, but I find that hard to believe. The nearest habitable planet is several light years away from here. It's going to be quite some time before we're close to anyplace even remotely liveable."

Eli smiled. "Mr. Wallace," he said. "I'm assuming that with your last name, you're a descendent of mine."

Wallace laughed outright at last. "That's what I find hardest of all to believe. How can you be who you appear to be?"

"I am indeed, Eli Wallace. When we, your ancestors, were transported from Destiny to the past, another copy of them remained in the present and eventually, we found our way home, to Earth. This ship, O'Neill, left Earth about two months ago."

"We can get you to Earth just as fast, Reger Wallace," Thor said softly. "Just say the word."


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AlexanderD is responsible for the name Borealis.
> 
> Standard disclaimer: we do not own Eureka, Star Trek, or Stargate, in any of their incarnations.
> 
> Please review!

A Wraith commander strode through the corridors of his Queen's hive. Had he had any less control of his emotions he would have been trembling, whether in fear or anger he was not sure. The queen that he was approaching was known for controlling her emotions, but was also known for her brutality.

"Speak!" The queen said after he arrived in the room.

"My Queen. We have just received word. The Lanteans are back in the galaxy."

"Where are they?"

"They are on the planet Australis. They are rebuilding the Lantean City ship Borealis." The commander remained kneeling his head bowed.

"How close are they to completing the repairs?" She asked him, and he winced internally.

"I do not know my Queen. The humans have built a wall in front of the stargate. Any dart we send through crashes into the wall. They have learned from the mistakes of the past."

The commander remained kneeling. He knew that if he said this to any other queen he would have been killed instantly. But this queen was different. She was the youngest and therefore the lowest in prestige. But she was powerful. She was one of the most powerful queens among the wraith and she was patient. She had spent centuries working among the shadows, collecting power while working with her father.

Quickly analyzing the situation, and coming up with a plan to bring about her father's long term goals, she smiled to herself.

The queen, Jardis, stood from her throne and walked to a data terminal. Because she was so young, she had never fought in a war of true equals. However, she was brilliant, and that was how she had remained alive during the civil war. She was one of the last queens still alive.

It was this brilliance that allowed her to temper her arrogance and rule her emotions. The queen placed her hand on the terminal and brought the telepathic amplifiers online to full power. "My Sisters. The Lanteans are back. They are rebuilding Borealis. This gives us the advantage, as we know where they are and what they are doing. But most importantly, they have anchored themselves to Australis. Meet me at our home world in 2 weeks time. We will strike at the humans before Borealis is ready to take flight."

Jardis closed the mental link and closed her eyes. She and her father were not yet ready to take over the Wraith, but they were close. The data they gained from the humans was valuable, and it allowed for the hives her Father was building to be far more powerful than a traditional hive. The actions of a traitorous commander that her Father had assigned to incorporate the Assuran Zero Point Module into a hive, had set back their plans. Her father had to give the Humans two more ZPMs to destroy the traitor.

It galled her to let the humans kill the traitor. She had wanted to let the traitor have Earth to feed on, but knew that if he had culled Earth, he could have come back and destroyed everything. Her father had spent some time on Earth and read the minds of the people with whom he had come into contact. There was a population of seven billion on Earth alone! Her feeding hand would have itched had she still needed to feed.

"Set a course for the home world." Jardis told the commander, not even bothering to look at him.

"At once my queen." The wraith turned and walked out, leaving Jardis to her thoughts. 'High Queen Jardis' she thought, smiling to herself.

On Altair

Dr. Henry Deacon looked down into the two slips where two Valhalla Class Battleships were being built. Jack Carter called them a mini Star Destroyer, and indeed, with their wedge shape, they did look much like the ships from Star Wars. The additional room added to the ship was used for Zane Donovan's Terran Starfighters, Fighter Drones, and (GD built) Alteran Drones. The Valhalla, the first of the class, was nearly complete. All that was left was for the Naquadria fuel rods to be placed into the reactor for final systems check. Then she would be jumped into orbit using Fargo's Jump Drive. Henry stared at the ships feeling a sense of pride mixed with regret. He hated having to use science for war, yet his ships were an advancement of science in the truest sense of the word.

Movement near the engines caught his eye and Henry watched as the Naquadria core was moved into position and maneuvered into the ship. A few minutes later Henry saw the umbilical line detach and the lights of Valhalla turn on as the power systems began to work on their own.

He watched as the seventy-five triple barreled Asgard plasma beam turrets, ninety GD molecular bond disruptors, forty anti-matter core railguns, and two hundred hybrid kinetic energy/ plasma pulse cannons started moving, testing their range of motion. Then, the Alteran drone launcher doors opened and closed. Henry knew that military hardware was necessary. After all, even if Terrans were purely pacifists, like the Nox, they would need defenses. The Valhalla was meant to destroy its enemies. There was no question about that. To add to it's power, the ship had two GD built Aurora inspired power plants and a ZPM for power. As well, there was the Asgard hyperdrive, the jumpdrive, and six gravity drives for propulsion.

Suddenly, the two massive doors on either side of the ship opened into the single hanger bay. Once they were opened, Henry saw Zane's newly designed starfighters flying on autopilot into the hanger. Seventy fighters flew silently into the hanger followed by two hundred eighty fighter drones.

Henry had quite a laugh when he first saw the design of the starfighters. Zane based their look on the Terran Starfighters from the TV show Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. While they looked very similar, there were some external differences. At the back, where the engines would have been, there was an enclosed space for the storage of mini drones. The starfighter was propelled by two gravity drives replacing the ion drives of the TV show. The passenger compartment was now forward facing and was used for a gunner. As well, it was armed with three types of guns. Of the eight forward facing weapons, the four upper and lower cannons were hybrid kinetic energy plasma pulses. The four horizontal weapons were railguns.

The railguns were powered by two modified gravity drives, to cut down on space. Each drive fired its two cannons simultaneously every quarter second. The cannon used depleted uranium core, trinium ball bearings the size of a pea, as ammunition. The railgun fired the ball bearings at three quarters the speed of light.

Henry sighed again as he watched the starfighters fly in and land on the hanger deck. It was humbling to see everything that had been accomplished. With a final look at the ship Henry shook his head and headed to the stargate. A beer sounded good right now.

On the planet Australis

Rodney Mckay was arguing, as usual, with Zane Donovan. They were discussing the best way to optimize the power distribution system for the stardrive. Rodney wanted to copy the setup on Atlantis, while Zane wanted to completely redesign the power grid from scratch.

Apart from the power grid, the rest of the city was finished. The city had been rearmed with forty thousand fighter drones (though they were still being loaded), Asgard plasma beams, heavy hlasma cannons, molecular disruption beams, and twenty jumpers. One of the rebuilt towers was a launch platform for the newly designed Terran starfighters. The entire tower was dedicated to the storage and maintenance of them. The tower could hold four hundred fifty of them, fifteen on each of it's thirty floors. In war time, that number could be doubled.

Borealis was to finish off the war with the Wraith, then move to Avalon to help in the coming conflict with the Ori. While Atlantis was only slightly modified by the Terrans, and left as a legacy to the Ancients, Borealis was rebuilt almost totally. She looked the same on the outside, yet on the inside she was an entirely new city. Only her stardrive was the same.

Borealis had three ZPMs for power along with seven Asgard neutrino ion generators, and four naquadria reactors. The final power system was an experimental system that used Ida replicator technology to convert solar radiation to run the city's systems during peacetime.

The city was also covered in a dome of aluminium oxynitride, or transparent aluminum. This meant that the shields did not need to be continuously active as Borealis was intended to remain in space for extended periods of time. When on a planet, the transparent aluminum could be dematerialized into a pattern buffer for long term storage.

In the control room of Borealis, the deep space sensors detected a massive Wraith fleet collecting above the Wraith homeworld. While it was noted, no one was unduly concerned, until it entered hyperspace a week later heading straight at Borealis

At Altair

Eli Wallace was excited. He had just tried his hand at piloting an Asgard ship. Thor had let him pilot the O'Neill on the return trip from the Novus Galaxy, as they were now referring to it. It was exciting for him. The feeling of piloting such a massive ship with just his thoughts was an incredibly bizarre feeling, but it was fun, especially while towing another very large ship.

While in Novus, they encountered several of the berserker drones, and when they did, Thor actually cursed long and loud. Duncan and Eli, who had never heard such a thing from Thor, were shocked. Quickly, Thor used his transporter beam to rip vital components out of the drones as they prepared to attack. These components were beamed into a secure location on board O'Neill and Thor said very little for some time as he thought about the situation they now found themselves in.

The Novus ship had sustained much damage from the berserker drones before it met up with the O'Neill. This single ship represented the only People of Novus who remained alive. The others had been killed either in the titanic stresses on their planet as a black hole passed through their system, or by berserker drones. In all, two thousand people remained in stasis, while a crew of forty-seven had been awake and piloting the ship.

They left the ship at Altair for repairs while Eli, Thor, Duncan, and Reger Wallace returned to Earth and Atlantis. Wallace was impressed by the city, and it was explained to him that while several Earth cities were being built in the image of Atlantis, certainly not all resembled it.

They met with Chancellor Jackson, Jack Carter, and General O'Neill in the chancellor's office, which was spacious enough to hold seven people very comfortably. Jackson pulled a chair up in front of his desk, so there wasn't anything between him and his guests. "Commander Wallace," he said, " I'm Chancellor Jackson, head of the Terran government. I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance."

Wallace was looking around the office. He was close to Jackson's age and had seen much, but he couldn't quite reconcile his mind to the luxury he had seen on Earth. When Jackson spoke, he had to force himself to concentrate on what he was saying. "I'm glad to meet you too, Chancellor."

Jackson gestured to O'Neill and Carter, seated on either side of him. "This is General O'Neill, head of homeworld security on Earth, and this is Jack Carter, my chief of staff. Thor, Eli, and Duncan have explained that we are willing to give you safe harbor here in Avalon." Wallace nodded at that. "The problem is that your people have no first hand knowledge of Earth, even though they are directly descended from Terrans."

Wallace was listening intently now, and he thought he understood where Jackson was coming from. "We have developed our own culture and national identity. I believe that is what you are saying, correct?"

Jackson nodded. "That is correct. Your people developed an incredible society, from what I've seen in pictures and in data. That's something to be proud of, and I for one, do not want you to lose that heritage. Here on Earth, we have problems from a recent battle that your people should not be exposed to. We can inoculate your people against it so you can come and go on Earth as you please, but living here right now, is not a good idea. There are several planets where your people can settle and become self sufficient very quickly. As well as your own resourcefulness, we are willing to give assistance wherever it is needed."

"That is very generous, Chancellor, and it is very much appreciated. What can we do to repay Earth for this opportunity?"

Jackson shook his head. "There are no strings to this offer, Commander. We are asking for nothing in return. You are our descendents, and the nations of Earth recognize that family is important."

Shortly afterward, Wallace was escorted to meet with Sam O'Neill, Narim of the Tollen, and Anteaus of the Nox. They would search through databases to find the best planet on which to settle the People of Novus.

Once Wallace had left and the door was shut, Eli looked at Jackson who motioned him to go ahead. "Ok, Thor, what gives?"

"I beg your pardon, Eli?" Thor asked, clearly confused by the question.

"Thor, we've become pretty good friends, all three of us," Eli said, indicating Thor, Duncan, and himself.

"Only once, have we heard you swear, Thor," Duncan said. "When you saw those berserker drones. You knew something about them that you weren't saying."

O'Neill nodded. "They told me about this right before you reached Altair. I've gotta admit, I'm pretty curious."

"We all are," Carter agreed.

Thor looked at the one person who hadn't said anything yet, Jackson, and saw him nod in agreement with the rest. Thor slumped in his chair, then he threw his head back and covered his face with his hands. He shook his head and groaned, then looked at the men. "Eli, you remember that Dr. Rush said the berserker drones had programming in Goa'uld?"

Eli nodded, not at all liking where this was going. Neither was O'Neill or Jackson.

"Wait a minute!" O'Neill exploded. "Those things aren't Goa'uld?"

"No, O'Neill," Thor said. "Many millennia ago, one of those drones drifted into Avalon, and the Goa'uld found it. They reverse engineered the thing, and gained much technology from it, even going so far as to incorporate it's symbols into their language." He looked around the room at each of the men. "You know that the Goa'uld are scavengers, taking technology from other races and using it to further their own power."

"Yeah," O'Neill said. "We know."

"That berserker drone gave them the edge in Avalon to be able to start the Age of the System Lords. Without that drone, they would never have come to power."

O'Neill was outraged. "And you didn't think to tell us about this?"

Thor remained calm. "No, O'Neill, I really didn't. I didn't think much about it because I was able to dispatch the drones with my transporter. When the Goa'uld came to power, they were able to beat us back at first. We countered with more advanced technology, and were able to quickly tip power in our favor again. We then had to deal with the replicators in the Ida Galaxy, and we gained more technology through that war. From what I can tell of the berserker drones in the Novus Galaxy, they aren't a threat to us."

"They sure did a number on Destiny," Eli observed.

"Yes," Thor agreed. "But Destiny is millions of years old, Eli. Had she been in her prime, and been able to repair after attacks, she would have fared much better."

O'Neill sat down, and fumed for a few minutes, not looking at Thor. Finally, he looked at the Blonde Norseman, and said, "Ok, Buddy. I can understand what you're saying. Just next time, tell us, ok?"

Thor thought for a moment, then said, "Alright, O'Neill. I will"

O'Neill smiled, then, "Ok, I'm good then."

As they left the room, O'Neill commented on the fact that Thor hadn't shaved on his excursion to the Novus Galaxy. "Nice beard, buddy. You gonna keep it?"

In Atlantis that night.

Jack and Allison were relaxing in their apartment. It had been a long day for both of them, and it felt good to be home. Jack was leaning back in the sofa, his arm around Allison. Their newly born baby, a boy, was asleep in a playpen near the sofa. He was leaning over to kiss his wife, when the door chime sounded. "Oh… Come in," he called and the door opened.

Merlin walked into the apartment, followed by one of the last people either Jack or Allison expected to see. Callister Raynes.

For a long moment, Jack sat and stared, his mouth agape. Allison wasn't able to speak any easier.

"Hello, Sheriff. Dr. Blake," Callister said politely. "But I guess you're not sheriff anymore. And my grandfather tells me that you two are married, so it's Mr. and Dr. Carter now."

Finally, Allison found her voice. "How…?," was all she managed though. Then, "Your grandfather? Who?" The reality finally hit her and Jack about the same time.

"You're saying," Jack said carefully, "that Merlin is your grandfather?"

"Sure," Callister said, shrugging. "Dr. Stark was my father after all. Can we sit down?" he asked, indicating another sofa.

"By all means," Jack said.

"So Merlin is your grandfather because Nathan was your father? Is that what you're saying?" Allison asked, shocked.

"That is correct," Merlin affirmed.

"That would make Nathan my uncle!" Jack exclaimed.

"That is also correct, Jack," Merlin said.

"So I married my aunt?" Jack asked. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"I guess that makes the baby your cousin," Callister said, sounding for all the world, perfectly serious.

"No," Jack said forcefully. "No, No, No! This is just wrong on so many levels! I cannot be Nathan Stark's nephew!"

Merlin sat on the sofa beside Callister, watching Jack's histrionics impassively. Finally, during a lull in his tirade, Merlin said, "If you'll let me explain a few things, Jack."

"No! I don't want to know how I could possibly be Nathan's nephew!"

"Well I'd like to know, Jack," Allison said firmly enough that Jack's head snapped around and he looked at his wife.

"I'm sorry, Ally," he said more calmly. "I just…"

"I know, Jack," she said smiling. "But no matter what we hear tonight, nothing between us is going to change."

"I think perhaps Samantha, Jack, and Jade should be here. Actually, this concerns all of your siblings, Jack," Merlin said before he began.

"Lexi and Samantha are at Eureka. Mark lived in San Diego," Allison protested.

Merlin nodded. "Can you call Sam and tell her to prepare to come here?" he asked.

Allison nodded and placed a call to Samantha. "Hi Sam," she said into her phone. "Merlin is asking that you, Jack, and Jade prepare to come here." She paused as she listened for a moment, then turned to Merlin. "They can be here in a couple of hours. There are no ships in Earth orbit with transport capability right now, so they'll have to take a jumper."

"That's quite alright," Merlin answered. "I can get them here if you'll just tell them to prepare for the unexpected."

Allison looked at Merlin strangely, but told Samantha, "Merlin says to expect the unexpected." Again, she listened then turned to Merlin. "She says 'ok.'"

Merlin then snapped his fingers and there was a flash of light. When it dimmed, Sam, O'Neill, and Jade were all standing in the room. Samantha still had her cell phone to her ear, but rather than react, she simply lowered it and shut it off. "That was definitely unexpected," she said.

Allison then called Lexi, and the same thing happened, except that Allison wasn't speechless when her sister-in-law and family appeared in the room.

"What about Mark?" Jack asked his grandfather. Merlin closed his eyes and bowed his head for a few moments. When he opened them, he shook his head. "I can't find Mark, Jack."

Jack nodded, as neither he, Sam, or Lexi had expected Mark to make it through the carnage of Southern California, especially since they hadn't heard anything from him. They had kept some hope, but now that Merlin couldn't find him, it seemed somehow to seal his fate.

Once everyone sat down, Merlin began, "Well, it's certainly gratifying to see how you have all grown and matured. As you know, Jack, Sam, and Lexi, your mother, Debra, was my daughter. What you haven't known, however, is that Nathan Stark was my son."

"I'm sorry," Lexi interrupted. "I've heard Jack and Allison talk about Nathan Stark, and how he was married to Ally. You're telling us that he was also our uncle?"

"That is correct, Lexi."

"From what I understand, Nathan was near Jack's age."

"He was just a year older than Jack," Allison said. "But I knew Jenna Stark, Nathan's mother. She was not old enough to be Debra Carter's mother."

"And Mom's maiden name was not Stark," Lexi added.

Merlin held up his hand. "Please, Wait a moment. Allison, the woman you knew as Jenna Stark, was indeed Jack's grandmother." He sighed as he said, "This will certainly take some time to explain. First, however, let me introduce Nathan's son, Callister Raynes."

Callister held up his hand, said a quiet but polite, "Hi," and smiled.

Sam had heard of Callister, but until now, had no idea who he was. Her eyes widened in amazement. "You're THE Callister Raynes? The basis for all androids in GD?"

"That's right," he said," but I'd prefer if people didn't know about that if we can help it."

Allison nodded. "Most of the people in GD don't know the whole story. They just know that you came back to Eureka."

Her husband nodded. "Stark, Jo, and I did a pretty good job of damage control after you 'died'. Besides Ally, Zoe, and me, I think the only people who know your secret are Henry, Jo, and Fargo."

Duncan had been quietly sitting beside his wife. He was somewhat surprised by what he was hearing, but he had learned to take things about Merlin in stride. While Callister being an android and having been dead was not strictly about the Wizard, it was in his family, so he figured it counted. Now he said, "We haven't been introduced, Callister. I'm Duncan Glennallen, Lexi's husband. I've got a question for you. What do you want to do with your life?"

"I'm really good with computers, but I always give them a virus, so I guess working with them is out of the question."

"No, it's not, Callister," Merlin disagreed. "I've fixed that problem. You won't harm any computers anymore."

"Really?" Callister asked. "Thank you, Grandfather," he said, obviously grateful. He turned back to Duncan. "That being the case, I'd like to work with computers again."

Sam said, "I can't offer a job with computers right now, but there is a job with Douglas Fargo on the Nathan Stark as assistant engineer. I can't guarantee you the job, Callister. We have to avoid nepotism, but I'll bet you'd be good at it," she explained. "At least you could interview for the job."

"That would be great!" Callister exclaimed.

"We have to avoid nepotism?" O'Neill asked. "Look at how many people are related to each other, in command areas right now! One more is hardly gonna matter!"

Lexi started listing them off on her fingers. "Let's see, you're in charge of home world security. Your best friend is high chancellor of Earth. Your wife is head of R and D involving extraterrestrial technologies. Your brother-in-law, your wife's twin, decides what extraterrestrial technologies common people get to see…"

"We get the point, Lexi," both Sam and Carter chorused together, then they looked at each other and laughed.

The conversation went long into the night with reminisces about Debra Carter and Nathan Stark. There were both laughing and tears along with the surprise of Nathan being an uncle. By the time Merlin returned the O'Neills and Glennallens to their homes, everyone was exhausted, but happy for the time they had had to get to know Callister and Merlin more.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Standard Disclaimer: We do not own any of these shows, in any of their incarnations.

In orbit around Australis, the Icon Fleet sat cloaked as they waited for the Wraith to arrive. Two days ago the fleet had arrived from Earth with fifteen O'Neills, seven Astraeus, nine Daedalus, the two Valhallas and the Tria. They were the only ships available to be sent against the Wraith; however, they knew it was not enough. The Wraith were sending 100 Hives and 400 cruisers. No one knew where the Wraith had gotten that many ships, but Rodney theorized that the intelligence they had downloaded from the Wraith hive several years ago, was of a single faction of Wraith, and not the entire armada.

Borealis was still offline and the power systems connecting the ZPM's to the stardrive were still not working properly. Without Borealis being able to retreat they would have to stay and fight. Letting the Wraith have the city was not an option.

Every engineer across the fleet, with the exception of those from the ships in orbit, was on the planet working to get Borealis online so they could leave. The battle began when 4 massive hyperspace windows flared into existence and the Wraith dropped out.

As soon as they arrived, the Icon fleet decloaked and fired before the Wraith had a chance to get a scan. For this mission, the Asgard ships had been modified to deal with the millions of Darts that the Wraith would have.

To deal with them, Thor had taken a page from the Terran playbook: Railguns. Five hundred Asgard designed railguns mounted at every firing angle of the O'Neill class. Thor was determined that the Asgard fleet regain its place in the galaxy. There were many opponents to railguns in the Asgard society, but Thor had pointed out that the railguns had a longer range then the transporter array, and most importantly, they took less power, which would help the shields in this battle.

The O'Neills and Valhallas targeted the Hive ships first, while the Deadalus and Astraeus class targeted the cruisers. The Tria remained in orbit, keeping darts and cruisers from firing at Borealis.

The O'Neill's and Valhallas were constantly moving in and out, between the Wraith ships. For the first few minutes they seemed to be winning. Each of the seventeen ships were doing an effective job, until the Wraith ships began moving closer together to prevent the Icon ships from moving it between their ranks.

This strategy limited the Wraith maneuverability to nil, but it stopped the Icon ships from getting in between them. From this formation, the Wraith activated a new technology: along the dorsal and ventral beams of the ships, ports opened and turrets rose from the ships. These turrets were far weaker than the main cannons of the Hives but they had several advantages. Each had 90 degrees of turn and could fire twice as fast as a static cannon. The turrets quickly gave the Wraith the upper hand as they no longer had to wait for the entire hive to turn to gain a firing solution. Thousands of Nadion energy bolts were flooding space hammering into the Icon ships.

As well as the turrets, around the hives, shields came up, causing a momentary panic in the Icon fleet. The Valhalla class battleship Hachiman was destroyed when the Wraith changed their formation. They boxed the Hachiman in and pounded its shields until they collapsed. The commander ordered the self-destruct before it was ripped to shreds, and the ship exploded taking two hives and nine cruisers with it. Three O'Neills tried to rescue the Hachiman and were destroyed for their trouble.

The Wraith began to move closer to the planet, boxing the Icon fleet in between them and the surface. The only place the Icon fleet was winning the battle was in the fighter dogfights. The Fighter Drones, F-302's, and Starfighters were tearing the Darts to pieces with little difficulty.

The Wraith ships slowly moved into position. They were obviously taking their time because they knew they had nothing to worry about. The hives were soon in place, and fired their main bow cannons at the planet. The Icon Fleet was intentionally in the way giving Borealis time to raise her shields. Quickly the most heavily damaged of the Icon Fleet flew into the atmosphere and landed on the planet near Borealis.

For this very likely eventuality, Borealis had been refitted with umbilical cables which allowed the fleet ships to connect to Borealis and help power her shields. The twenty seven Icon ships were all on the planet now connected to their umbilicals. Two O'Neills were lost when they diverted all power, even life-support, to their shields. Once Nathan Stark connected to the city, Sheppard left command of his ship to his first officer, Toby Bismark. Bismark had worked at Area 51, but was brought to Altair to work on the 302s and 303s. He had been cross training aboard the Stark when the first officer had moved to his own ship, the Ed Fowler. Consequently, it had been decided that Bismark, would be first officer. He was not technically a line officer, but as Sheppard said over his protests, "Bismark, you know what to do. There aren't any other battle ready commanders here right now, so when the Stark is released from Borealis, blast Wraith!"

For forty-five minutes the Wraith bombarded the super powered shields of Borealis. All hope seemed lost when even more hyperspace conduits were detected coming towards Australus.

It was a great relief to the Terran and Asgard when the Wraith, Todd, contacted Borealis and offered his help. When Todd arrived, the Icon fleet was shocked to see the return on the scans of his ships. The 10 Hives Todd came with had hulls 3 times the density of a normal hive and they no longer had the hollow center area. Instead the fleet detected that the area was filled with a single, massive, naquadah reactor.

Todd's fleet quickly moved into position behind the Wraith Fleet and opened fire. His weapons were double the power of the standard weapons blast and had half the recharge time. They were quickly tearing bio armor apart. But there were so many cruisers in the way that he was unable to target the hives.

The tide of battle was turning, but not far enough. It was still on the side of the Wraith. However, Borealis was now fully active and immediately, they fired a single stream of drones into space, identical to the stream that was seen in antarctica when Anubis attacked Earth. They hoped that this would bring a quick end to the battle.

It did not. The wraith cruisers activated their own upgrades. Like the hives, they had new weapon turrets installed. These were built to target the missiles of the Terran ships. But they worked for drones as well. hundreds of drones were shot out of space as the cruisers opened fire. The amount of weapons fire created a wall of Nadion particles. The new Wraith weapons worked like flak cannons detonating after a set amount of time. The anti-nadion weapons generated shock waves, which tore the drones, fighter drones, and darts apart.

The Nathan Stark seemed hesitant to get into the thick of things on her climb back into the battle, but after a bit, she started holding her own. Finally, however, a cruiser used pinpoint accuracy and removed most of her weapons. "What weapons do we have left?" Bismark shouted to Fargo over the intercom.

"Weapons power is out!" Fargo yelled back, barely audible over the explosions and groaning of the ship. "I can only give you power for the gravity drive now, but counter force is only running at eighty percent, and I can't guarantee that for long."

"It's enough, Fargo! Remember what you did with that Aschen ship?"

"Yeah!"

"We're gonna do it again, only this time with style," Bismark yelled. He turned to the helm, keeping the intercom to Fargo open, so what he was ordering would be understood. "Take us in between the Wraith ships where there's room, and as we pass between them, give a burst of full power gravity. Pull those ships into each other. Just make sure we're not in between them when they collide! Best to plot a course where we don't have to correct very much, cause we're going to need to be moving fast."

Fargo heard, and before he left the open intercom, he very calmly told Bismark, "You'd better hope we don't survive this, Toby, because if we do, I'm going to kill you for what you're about to do to the Stark!"

Bismark faced the intercom, cupped his hand over it and leaned in close. "Probably not, Doug, because if this works and we survive, they'll give me a medal."

"Uh huh," Fargo said and went to tend to the stressed gravity drives.

The idea worked quite effectively. The Stark pulled several Wraith ships into each other, but it wasn't built for the amount of stress produced in it's spine, and on the fifth maneuver, it cracked with a deafening sound. Fargo had been prepared for this however, and immediately he set the bow and stern gravity drives pulling into each other, holding the ship together tightly. "We've cracked the superstructure, Toby," he told the bridge. "Get us out of here!"

"Do we need to land or just get out of the gravity of the planet?"

Fargo checked the power meters, and almost fainted when he saw them. "Get us to the planet's surface, and pray there's enough power to land!"

Bismark had the helm nudge the ship just enough to where it fell out of the battle, and started a fiery descent to the surface. As they got closer, Fargo gave just enough power to the drive to slow them down and eventually to soft land.

Colonel Everett Young, in command of the Wayne Kwan, saw the Stark literally drop out of the battle, but couldn't spare the time to follow it's trail down and see if it landed or crashed. Instead, he was attempting to be as unpredictable as possible. He was getting as close to the hives as he could, and taking many of them out of commission. The conventional battle strategy of the 305 was to use the APBs to remove shields, then use the molecular bond disrupters to dissolve the ship. In this battle, there wasn't time to lock on the MBDs, so they and the antimatter core railguns were simply slaved to the APBs and fired at the same time. By the time the plasma beams brought down shields, the MBDs and ACRs were inflicting their damage. Young had his helmsman and APB gunners steering and firing at will, with just the occasional suggestion from him. The MBD and ACR gunners were having fun targeting and blowing away darts and other miscellaneous items of Wraith manufacture, such as cruisers and the occasional hive with shields already removed. They would "pull the trigger", and the computer would then do it's magic, making whichever gun that was currently available fire at the target. Young spied an opening between two of the hives that was irresistible, he had seen what Bismark did with the Stark and decided to use a modified version of the strategy with the Kwan. The Nathan Stark had had no APBs operable when it did this trick but the effect was spectacular none the less. He could just imagine the resulting explosion when he pulled down the shields on a couple of hives and then threw them together. He had his ship dive between the two hives, blasting with the APBs to remove the shields completely between them, then the Kwan pulled them together as she went through.

Young was right. The resulting explosions from the two colliding hives was enough to remove three cruisers and a whole slew of darts from the battle. Two of the cruisers joined the hives on a downward spiral, where the Ed Fowler targeted them with MBD weapons and reduced them to dust that simply blew away and posed no danger to the population of Australis. The third cruiser apparently decided to help the Kwan, as it spun out of control between two hives. The only problem was that the space between them was not nearly large enough for a cruiser, and it collided with one hive, then the other, causing a massive chain reaction on both ships which culminated in the explosion of the drive systems on both, not to mention the complete vaporization of the cruiser. This in turn removed another twelve hapless darts from the battle. The fighter drones that had been in the area apparently realized what was happening, and managed to be in another place at the crucial moments. The remainder of the cruiser, just a few stray bits of the superstructure, really, tumbled toward Valhalla, but the Fighter drones reappeared, and made short work of the fragments.

The counter attack managed to eliminate forty of the remaining three hundred twenty two cruisers. But the rest, along with the seventy remaining hives, continued to attack the city ship. However, they were now up against Todd's fleet of ten upgraded hives and forty upgraded cruisers as well as the remaining Icon ships.

The Icon fleet was in bad shape. They had launched again and were coordinating with Todd's fleet trying to fight back. Borealis managed to launch when Todd moved his Hive between her and the attacking fleet. Once in space, she used her energy weapons to attack the Wraith. The tide was even for the moment as Borealis was the deal breaker. Rodney and Zane had done their magic in rebuilding her.

This was also the proving ground for the Terran Starfighters. The control of a starfighter was made to mimic the F16, within reason. There were some things you could do in a Terran Starfighter that you simply couldn't do in atmospheric craft, such as flying sideways, or even backwards. Thus, these maneuvers had been added to the flight computers, and drilled over and over by the pilots. Elite groups of pilots, including the American Thunderbirds and Blue Angels, as well as the Canadian Snowbirds, were given first crack at flying them, and then given the opportunity to teach the art. The result was a group of pilots who were exceptionally good. They had drilled with fighter drones and without, and could almost instantly change their mode of attack. Now, they were proving their worth, both the pilots and the ships. They were designed to be highly maneuverable, and were diving in and out, where the larger ships had been going before. They were used to flying in close formation, and with the Wraith closing their ranks to keep out the larger ships, the starfighters were still able to move freely in between. Granted, the damage they could inflict wasn't as much as one of the larger ships, but they were still a force to be reckoned with.

Regardless, neither side could get the advantage. The technological advantage of Todd's and the Icon Fleet was countered by the numbers available to the Wraith.

The stalemate was ended quite effectively when a single hyperspace window opened. The largest anyone had seen in over 100,000 years. Forty Alteran ships exited hyperspace, followed by a city ship, and lastly the largest space vessel anyone present had ever seen.

Ten Auroras and thirty cruisers immediately began firing. Drones crossed space in moments, while orange beams of energy slammed into the Wraith cruisers. The Alteran Cruisers accelerated toward the wraith hives and released dozens of red bolts of energy, that when impacting the hives, blossomed into massive explosions. "What are they shooting?" Zane shouted to Sheppard.

Quickly, Sheppard did an analysis, while sending a drone through the bridge of a hive ship, neatly removing the head, right shoulder, and arm of the hive's queen in the process. When he received the result of his scan, he shouted back at his friend, "Looks like it's some sort of a torpedo containing a small FTL drive and an antimatter charge! Boy, they're sure effective too!" He took the same drone and propelled it at the engines and life support section of a Wraith cruiser, while watching the effect of another torpedo on the bridge of the ship he'd just targeted. There was no more bridge, or even the general section of the cruiser where it had been. It was simply gone. He cheered as the combined force of the torpedo, plus his engine room drone, exploded the cruiser from both ends.

The massive ship, easily able to fit a city ship inside itself, fired hundreds of torpedoes and energy beams at the Wraith while the City-ship was maneuvering like a ship a quarter it's size. It was making turns and accelerating at speeds that would normally destroy a ship it's size.

In Borealis, John Sheppard watched as his control chair linked up with the chairs in the new ships. His mind was assaulted with information about the new city-ship, and the giant, including who, why, and how it was built. "I don't believe it!," Sheppard exclaimed.

"What?" Rodney asked.

"They're Ascended Ancients!"

"What?" Rodney asked again, but in a much different tone.

"Ok," Sheppard said as he continued to blast holes in Wraith ships. "Technically, they're not ascended anymore, but they were, and according to the link that just formed between our control chair and theirs, they're here to help us with the Ori. The city ship is Camelot and the big one is Avalon."

The battle ended soon. The Wraith were obliterated. The powerful deep space sensors on Avalon easily determined that the only wraith ships left in Pegasus were Todd's single superhive and thirteen cruisers.

The Icon fleet was in tatters. Of their initial numbers, they only had five O'Neill's, the Valhalla, two of the Deadalus class, and one Astraeus still in decent shape.

Sheppard ordered the fighter drones back, and contacted the starfighter squadrons, ordering them to return to Borealis, then he closed his eyes. He had no idea what had happened to his own ship, but he had seen the heroics Bismark had performed, and he was proud of his crew. They had crippled three hives, and completely destroyed five more without firing a single shot.

Zane came into the chair room, where Sheppard was relaxing, and quietly tapped him on the shoulder. "Just figured you'd want to know, Fargo is in contact with us. The Nathan Stark soft landed, and there aren't any casualties."

Sheppard hadn't opened his eyes and didn't bother when he heard the news either, but he did smile broadly and sigh deeply, grateful that his friends pulled through. He was going to recommend them all for medals!

A couple of hours later…

Thor had taken the O'Neill back to Earth and picked up the Carters and Jacksons. It was thought that the Chancellor of Earth should be present for the meeting to come. Merlin asked if he could tag along, and Jackson agreed. "Can I refuse, Merlin?" he asked.

"You're right, Daniel. I could be there regardless, but I would respect your desires in this case."

"You may as well come along. You will know soon enough what happens."

Merlin smiled as he followed the coordinates for beam up.

Odwin, Lya, Rak' nor, and Anise were brought as well and quick messages were sent to their respective governments requesting their ambassador statuses be extended to Ancients and possibly Wraith. The shocked replies came back in the affirmative, but the Jaffa and the Tok' ra kept the communications flying asking for more information.

Now, Todd was seated in the conference room of Borealis looking at a sight he thought was gone forever: a squadron of Alteran guards complete with phased energy rifles and energy dampening armor. Todd internally winced as he remembered 10,000 years ago and the pain those weapons could inflict. To his right, Jardis sat looking at the Humans, Asgard, and Alterans with contempt. 'So young and naive.' Todd thought concerning his daughter. 'We are at their mercy.' Of course she was not his daughter by blood, but he did raise her. Todd gave her a mental nudge and told her to stop the display of hostility. It took her a great effort, but she obeyed.

"Well this is quite a surprise. Todd, if I remember John Sheppard's name for you." one of the Ancients said from his seat.

"What? I know you, don't I?" Todd was surprised when he realized who this Ancient was. "Hippaforalkus?" Todd exclaimed, "You are still alive?"

"Yes. I ascended and avoided death. How's the neck?" Hippaforalkus asked, referring to when he stabbed Tood through the neck with a bayonet during the war.

"Better. I see your eye is as well."

"What's your game here Todd?" Sheppard asked, "Not that I'm not grateful for you arriving when you did, but why?"

"For several hundred years I have been gaining power in the shadows. Waiting for the right moment to strike at the leadership of the Wraith. In your words. I have been planning a coup." Todd began. "I have been amassing growth cells for hives and cruisers, as well as designing new ones. But I have been working slowly, almost imperceptibly. I still had an estimated four hundred years until I believed I would be ready to make my move when you arrived in this galaxy. Your arrival sped things along nicely."

"And I suppose the queen next to you was working with you all along?" John said.

"Yes. She has been working for me since she was born. She is my daughter after all." Todd said causing Sheppard to look at him astonished.

"Where did you get the naquadah reactor design? Thor scanned your ships and discovered that the design is very similar to ours?"

"Something I picked up from the Daedalus when I took Dr. Kellers retrovirus. It took me a while to add them into my ships. They were a second option if the Zero Point Module would not integrate into a Hive ship."

"Where did all of the Hive ships come from? We were under the impression that there were only 150 hives in the galaxy?"

"The intelligence you recovered was only on a single sect of hives. One of the largest. In total there were 570 hives in the galaxy before you arrived."

"What all did you do to prepare your coup?"

"I collected genetic samples of every queen that ever lived. Intending to clone them in the future. I have also begun designing new weapons and defenses."

"So is the queen..."

"Jardis."

"Jardis, a clone?"

"Yes. But she has been raised by me from infancy."

"Todd," Hippaforalkus spoke up. "We are preparing for an attack from our cousins. They are Lanteans that have no problems using technology that we considered too dangerous or immoral. They know everything we do, and have all the same technology, but none of our morals. They already have a part of Avalon under their control. They also know that humans are here and they will attempt to subjugate them. They are ascended but have human followers."

"And they are coming here?" Jardis asked.

"Not yet. We are at a stalemate at the moment. The Ori… That is what they call themselves. The Ori are building their forces at the moment. As are we." Sheppard said.

"The Ori are the reason over ten thousane Alterans have chosen to descend after building the fleet we arrived in." Hippaforalkus explained. "We could no longer sit idly by, so while Ascended we build the fleet, then we descended to control the ships.

"I say all this to say that one of the finest doctors that was ever born has looked over Dr. Keller-McKay's work on the Retrovirus. She found the problem that caused the Wraith to become ill and die when Todd and his crew took it.

"Now, lest you think we are trying to poison you, Todd, let me say that poison would not be nearly satisfying enough for me. If I wanted to kill you, I would finish that fight we started 10,000 years ago."

"Agreed. Poison is not personal enough." Todd growled "I assume that you wish for my help to fight the Ori?"

"Yes. We do."

"And the Ori will not leave the Wraith alone?"

"As far as they're concerned, it's either worship them or die."

"Very well, I will help," Todd said, grudgingly.

Hippaforalkus glanced at the rest of the people sitting around the table. "Alright, we need to get some ships repaired and upgraded, if that's agreeable to the Iconians."

"Iconians?" Jack O'Neill asked.

"I think he's referring to us, Jack," Jackson said mildly. "Those who have signed the treaty of Icon."

"Oh."

Jackson pursed his lips for a moment and looked at the Ancient. He had a feeling about this man, but he wasn't quite sure what to think. He glanced over at Merlin, who gravely nodded his head.

The look wasn't lost on Hippaforalkus, but he showed no emotion as he waited for an answer.

I'll bet he'd be quite a poker player, Jack thought to his sister. He was totally unprepared when his grandfather's voice came through in his mind. He is. Jack saw his sister snap her head around and look at Merlin at the same time he did. Obviously Sam heard him too, he thought to himself.

"I can't speak for the Asgard in this matter, but as far as the Earth ships, I have no problem with your help in repairs, or updates for that matter, as long as our engineers approve," Jackson finally said.

"We'll certainly take a look at what they have, Sir," Samantha said. She was still reeling at the fact she was able to hear her grandfather telepathically, but she was trying to focus on the conversations going on audibly in the room.

"Good. I'll introduce you to the Twins then," Hippaforalkus said, slapping his hand on the table, and using it to push himself up. He pulled his tunic smooth with both hands before speaking again. "They are quite frankly, the two best engineers in the universe."

Rodney McKay looked somewhat taken aback by the statement, and the Ancient quickly said, "Dr. McKay, in this room, I am surrounded by some of the best engineers ever known and I don't say that lightly. There has to be a best, though, and they are it. Shall we go?"

"Sure," Sam and Henry said, almost in unison. Rodney just nodded. Hippaforalkus stood very straight and tipped his head up just a slight bit, then said, "Hippaforalkus to the Commander: Bring us over."

O'Neill almost panicked as bright spots started to appear before his eyes, and the room they were in faded out. He saw two bright spots of light start in the center of his wife's body and trace to the top of her head and the bottom of her feet simultaneously as she shimmered out of existence. The next thing he saw was a large room appear around him. He was in some kind of alcove, standing on a lighted platform. There were two steps down in front of him and a console of some kind with a man working the controls. He stepped forward and down the steps before looking at who materialized around him. There were Hippaforalkus, Jack Carter, Daniel Jackson, Thor, and Merlin. "Where's Sam?" he asked, panicked.

"Don't you worry, Lad," The man behind the console said. "She's fine. I'll be bringing her aboard now."


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to L. Ron Hubbard for his explanation of the Psychlo battle plane engines in Battlefield Earth.
> 
> Disclaimer: We don't own these franchises (Eureka, Stargate, Star Trek). Just enjoy reading and writing about them.

Hippaforalkus stepped off the platform and turned to face the rest. Before he could speak, the door opened and a dark skinned Alteran hurried into the room. "My apologies, Hippaforalkus. I was trying to get the scans done of Todd's ships before you got aboard."

"And?"

"Looks like he's been telling the truth, Sir."

Hippaforalkus nodded and thanked the newcomer, then turned back to his guests. Another group of people were materializing on the platform.

Jack Carter watched as his wife, sister, Henry, Fargo, Zane, and Rodney appeared on the platform. "Where's Todd?" he asked.

The man behind the console patted the controls affectionately. "He's right in here, Laddie. Right where he belongs."

Hippaforalkus looked at Merlin for a moment, then back at the man at the console. He sighed, and said, "Much as I agree that a transport buffer is the perfect place for Todd, go ahead and bring him in, Scotty."

"Ach, Lad. Aye." Scotty shook his head and grumbled something about the only good Wraith being a dead one.

The dark skinned man had joined him and was looking at some readouts on the console. He glanced at Scotty and remarked, "You said it!" then watched as forms started to coalesce on the transport platform. Todd and Jardis faded into being, along with Sheppard, Bismark, and Walter Harriman.

Scotty stood up straight from the controls, folded his arms over his chest, and glared at Todd. His associate didn't seem very happy with the Wraith either, although his distaste was not as pronounced as Scotty's.

Hippaforalkus seemed amused by the two engineers' hostility, but then he wasn't happy with Todd either. "Ladies and gentlemen, Todd. Jardis."

"Come now, Lantean. Are we to be subject to abuse for the entire time we are here? I told you that we will help, and this is the thanks we get?" Todd was clearly furious.

Merlin stepped forward and confronted the Wraith. "My apologies, Todd. We will try to contain our prejudices. This is the first time the Alterans, or Lanteans, have worked together with Wraith."

"And what about him?" Todd sneered at Hippaforalkus. "Will he behave himself? Do you speak for all of the Lanteans, Wizard?"

Sheppard stepped in between Todd and Merlin. Surprisingly, he turned to face Merlin. "I can vouch for Todd, Merlin. Yes, he's a Wraith, but it seems that he has an agenda separate from the rest of the Wraith." He turned and backed up to where he was no longer standing between the two. "But one thing I can say for Todd. He will always work for his own best interest, and in this case, helping us is in that interest. He's never told me he would help and then backed out. If the deal is called off, he will give me warning before acting on that." He looked the Wraith in the eye. "Right, Todd?"

"Yes, Sheppard. This peace, however temporary, is in my best interest, and I will honor it."

Shepard turned to face Merlin and Hippaforalkus. "See? We're all one big happy family here."

Merlin looked at O'Neill, who simply shrugged his shoulders. Then turned to Hippaforalkus. "I think we can all get along here, don't you?" He received a grudging nod. He turned to the men behind the transporter console. "Mr Scott? Mr. LaForge?"

"Yes, we can," LaForge agreed.

"Aye. I'll not be the one to break any peace," Scotty said.

"Nor will I," Todd said.

"Ok then," Hippaforalkus said, starting again. "Ladies and Gentlemen," he said, waving a hand that included everyone, "Welcome to Avalon. If you'll follow me, I'll show you around." He walked to the door and it glided open with a whoosh, and the group filed into the corridor. "This is the space station you saw from your ships. It is an ancient design, no pun intended, that has not been used in over fifty million years. The actual design is older than our hyperdrives, but we incorporated the latest versions of our technology.

"We constructed it this way because our engineers, Mr. Scott and Mr. LaForge started their careers working on this type of technology, but they can work on anything thrown at them.

"Some of the weapons you witnessed during the battle have been directly taken from this technological age as well. The Photon Torpedoes that you saw are quite effective, as are the Phasers."

"Aye, Lad," Scotty said, "And we shouldn't have any problems with the Ori using either of those at first, but given time…." He let it trail off and LaForge picked things up.

"Given time, they might be able to shield against either or both. Neither are really more powerful than what the Ori have. It's just technology that they're unfamiliar with."

"Hippaforalkus," McKay said, stumbling over the long name.

The ancient raised his hand in a hold on gesture. "I'll tell you what. Obviously, you know I've been around for a long time, but I was actually born about the same era as the twins," He said, indicating the two engineers. "I have a much more simple name from long ago. Why don't you call me by it: Will."

"Ok," McKay said, a bit taken aback by such a common name. "That's pretty easy. I know a few 'Wills' and 'Bills'."

"Well, I've never liked the name 'Bill'. I've always preferred 'Will'."

"So is Will short for something?" Carter asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact," the Alteran said. "It's short for William. William Riker, at your service," he said, bowing slightly.

Jackson was surprised. "That doesn't even sound Ancient."

"I agree," Riker said. "But I assure you, Dr. Jackson. I am well over fifty million years old."

"And you don't look a day over thirty million," Scotty said, absolutely straight faced.

Riker laughed as they rounded a corner and came upon an incredible sight: a row of windows that looked out into the central core of the station. In it, they could see several of the Alteran ships being serviced. "The originals of these stations were a bit smaller, but as ships grew, they became larger. This is the biggest one ever built." As he spoke, something amazing happened. Camelot suddenly shimmered into view across the core. That gave a scale to the size of the core. It was massive! Borealis could easily fit inside along with the rest of the Iconian fleet.

Scotty spoke up, "We'd like to bring in your ships as well, and start working on them. We'll get them ship-shape so we can travel back to the Avalon Galaxy."

"Well," LaForge said. "Those that aren't ready can be transported inside Avalon. We've never worked on a Wraith ship, but we do know the theories behind them. We can help you on repairs too, Todd."

Todd was staring out the windows. All the smugness was gone from his attitude as he took in the marvel that was Avalon. Finally, he looked at Riker. "Why do you want my help, Hippa…. Riker? Clearly, you don't need it."

"Todd, I don't like you, but I like the Ori even less. Frankly, it's tempting to allow them to kill you, but I wouldn't even wish them on you," he said, stressing the 'you' so Todd got the idea that the Ori were the lowest of the low. Todd again started to protest and Riker held up a hand again. "Sorry, Todd. Old habits die hard. You offered to help today, and even though I'm sure you have motives you haven't told us, I see some redeeming qualities in you, which is something I never thought I'd say about any Wraith. I think you should be given a chance."

Todd's eyes narrowed at Riker's words and he slowly cocked his head in suspicion. "For you to give me a chance, Lantean… That is unprecedented."

Riker drew himself up to his full height of 6'4". "Yes, Todd. It is. Are you willing to take the chance I'm offering?"

"I told you earlier that I was, Lantean," Todd said belligerently.

"And I can see you're still waffling, Todd!" Riker was almost in the Wraith's face now. Jardis was shocked at the gall of this Lantean, but she knew him by reputation. He had seriously injured her father more than once. She wouldn't be surprised if things came to blows now, in fact. She looked at the others surrounding the two, and saw that they were expecting it as well.

Amazingly, Todd backed down. Then, he shocked everyone by smiling, and he stuck out his hand in the human fashion. The smile was of simple enjoyment, not at all predatory. He laughed and said, "What do you want me to do, Riker?"

In the engine room of Avalon…

The group was standing on a balcony, looking at an enormous conduit through which unfathomable amounts of power were flowing. The conduit stretched from floor to ceiling and glowed with an unearthly blue light. Rather than Riker, Scotty and LaForge had taken the lead now, and were explaining how things worked here.

"...so Avalon also has what we call a warp engine," LaForge finished.

"What good is it to travel at those speeds? It hardly seems worth the trouble," McKay remarked.

"Aye, Lad," Scotty admitted. "Hyperspace is an order of magnitude faster, and more! But did it ever occur to you that it's also very fragile?"

"A wormhole drive is one thing," LaForge said, agreeing with his friend, "but hyperspace is delicate beyond measure if the right conditions exist."

"The same could be said for any type of extraordinary space," Henry said. "You might even collapse hyperspace if you had the right influence."

"Exactly!" LaForge exclaimed.

"And what do you suppose those conditions might be, Dr. Deacon?" Scotty asked. "If you were to hazard a guess, I mean."

"We've seen effects from gravity, and while it affects hyperspace, it doesn't collapse it."

"True," LaForge said, as if he were speaking to a student. "So what would effect it more?"

"Time," Sam said suddenly. McKay looked at her as if she was out of her mind. "Think about it, Rodney. We've seen changes in hyperspace due to extreme gravity. But we know that extreme gravity also affects time. Time slows down to a crawl in extreme gravity. Isn't it conceivable that time could then affect hyperspace almost catastrophically?"

McKay was about to brush off her theory, when he saw Scotty's face. "Lassie," the ancient engineer said, "That's a great theory. Now, can ye support it?"

Rodney started to think about possible relationships, and was about to mention tachyons when Zane spoke up. "Tachyons," he said. "A buildup of tachyons could make an entry into hyperspace improbable, if not impossible to achieve."

McKay saw another problem with probable temporal shifts in the hyperspace field as well. He opened his mouth but Sam said, "Even if a person could get into hyperspace, a buildup of tachyons could lead to not knowing where you'd emerge."

"Or when," Henry finished.

McKay tried once more, but Bismark suddenly spoke up from where he had been conferring with Fargo. "It seems to us that another problem is the possibility of being forcibly ejected from any hyperspace field you managed to get into."

"Oh, I give up!" Rodney finally exploded.

"What's wrong, Rodney?" O'Neill asked, appearing to be all innocence.

"I'm trying to answer, and each time I do, someone beats me to the punch! I end up looking like an idiot because I'm low on sugar! Even the Area 51 moron is beating me."

Fargo leaned in to whisper to Bismark. "Don't take it personally, Toby. He's always this way."

"You see?" McKay said, gesturing at Fargo. "You see? Abuse! That's what I always get!"

Fargo didn't whisper this time. "See what I mean?"

LaForge was standing by the railing, politely waiting until the banter was done. Scotty, for his part, was clearly enjoying it. Riker had his arms folded, waiting, but he was grinning broadly.

"You're right, Dr. Bismark," LaForge agreed when things had settled a bit. "Forcible ejection is a definite probability."

"And trust me, Lad. Forcible is the operative word. It's not pretty," Scotty said, shaking his head meaningfully.

"Have you ever been in such a situation?" Henry asked.

"Nay. It's doubtful that a ship could even survive the re-entry into normal space."

"So, if you don't mind my asking," McKay finally got to speak, "how do you know what would happen? If it's just theory I mean."

"It's not just a theory, Dr. McKay," LaForge said, looking towards Merlin. "Merlin has seen it happen, and we've run the numbers. What he describes is precisely what the mathematics predict."

The scientists and engineers looked to the wizard for an explanation.

Merlin sighed resolutely and began to tell what he knew. "When I was born, it was impossible to travel through hyperspace like we do now. In fact, we couldn't even conceive of hyperspace because of the interference generated from that region. All the research done on what we know as hyperspace was skewed by tachyon interference. No accurate research could even be done because accurate measurements couldn't be taken. The only thing which pointed to the possible existence of hyperspace was the occasional energy vortex which acted as a gateway through it."

"A gateway to where?" Carter asked.

"Now that is an interesting question. The best way I can explain that, Jack, is to say that they were gateways to what was on the other side."

"Is that some kind of a joke?" Rodney asked. "Cause if it is, it's not very funny."

"Dr. McKay, I'm not belittling you. I am certain that you understand the question, 'How do you explain color to someone who has been blind their entire life?'"

McKay nodded. "You're saying that there is no way I can understand because we don't have a common frame of reference, right?"

"Precisely," Merlin agreed. "I'm very sorry that this is the case, as I know you're a man who likes to understand everything, but there really isn't a way to explain this to you. I'm afraid you're just going to have to trust me on this."

For a moment, it seemed as if McKay was going to start into a tirade, but then he thought better of it and settled down. He looked at the floor for a moment then lifted his chin and set his jaw resolutely. He resolved to not react to any of this if it killed him. But in the next moment, all of his resolve flew out the window as Scotty showed the Iconian scientists the matter bridge used to recharge Avalon's energy reserves.

As Mr. Scott explained the system, McKay became more and more excited. Finally, he couldn't contain himself, and burst out, "That's Jeanne's and my design!"

Samantha turned a scathing look on McKay, and O'Neill said, "Really, Rodney? You have to take credit for this too? I think Mr. Scott and Mr. LaForge could do this without copying your design."

"Actually," LaForge said, "this is their design, General. Mr. Scott and I were monitoring what they were doing when they built the matter bridge."

"They were very close to perfecting the design," Scotty continued. "We just needed to tweak things a wee bit, but it's working now. We've called it the 'Miller-McKay' bridge."

Samantha and Fargo both had to struggle to not drop open their mouths at this revelation. Carter turned to O'Neill and in a low voice said, "He's not going to let anyone forget this. You know that, right?"

O'Neill nodded. "I know. Why'd they have to name the thing after him?"

McKay, for his part was speechless. Finally, he asked, "Why couldn't you call it the McKay-Miller bridge?"

This broke Samantha out of her speechlessness. "Rodney!"

"Well Lad, you'll have to admit. Your sister had it pretty well done before she showed it to you."

"I know. It's just that…." He paused, trying to think of a way of putting his thoughts where they didn't sound completely selfish.

Before he did, however, Merlin said quietly, "Dr. McKay, I understand how you feel. You wish to leave behind a legacy that will keep your name remembered long after you are gone. But I know the type of person you are. You develop friendships that are deep, and you affect your friends in ways that are lasting. That is your legacy, Doctor, and that is the type that will last forever."

Something about the way Merlin said it, made McKay realize that these were not mere platitudes that were being spoken. There was something that the old wizard was refusing to say and he was intrigued. Before he could ask about it, however, they finished the tour of engineering, and headed for the control center of the vast station.

"Normally," Riker said, "on a starbase, there would be a control room referred to as 'Ops'. This station, however is somewhat different, as it has a stardrive. It actually has a bridge as well."

"Now that's not strictly true," LaForge protested. "The same room is used for either purpose. It is simply reconfigured when it needs to be."

"I'm not sure I follow you," Carter said as a door whooshed open and they stepped through.

A man in a strange red and black uniform turned at the sound of Carter's voice. He gazed at the terran for several seconds, then he slowly approached, his eyes shifting to the wizard. He stopped in front of Merlin, then gazed over at Samantha and her husband. Finally, the man looked back at Merlin and said, "These are your grandchildren." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

"Yes, Commander."

The Commander turned and walked over to Carter. The two were very close in height, and they stood eye to eye for several moments, sizing each other up. Finally, Carter asked, "Do I know you?"

Merlin stepped to Carter's side and answered. "Jack and Samantha; this is the Commander. He is my great-grandfather."

Jack was momentarily surprised, but he recovered quickly. "So that would make you my great-great-great-grandfather, right?" Jack said, unsure if he was putting in the correct number of greats or not.

"Yes. I suppose it would," the Commander affirmed, still not sure how to react to his descendent.

Jack stood for a few more moments, then held out his hand. "Well then… it's a pleasure to meet you."

Samantha also came over with O'Neill in tow. The Commander looked at Jack's outstretched hand, then smiled and took it. "It's a pleasure to meet you too," he said, pumping Jack's hand up and down.

He let go of Jack's hand and turned to Samantha. She held out her hand, but rather than shake it, the Commander took it and kissed it. "Charmed," he said to her. He turned to O'Neill and shook his hand as well.

He then turned to the group as a whole. "Welcome aboard Avalon." he said. "I trust the twins have been showing you around?"

"As has Riker," Merlin answered. "This is quite a ship," He continued, looking around Ops.

"Yes," The Commander said. "I haven't given a tour for…. I'm really not sure how long it's been," he said, surprised. "I'll show you around Ops."

The Commander showed them around the key stations, then he turned to Merlin. "I want to show you something." He made sure everyone was standing near the entrance to the room, then he strode to his command station and touched a series of contacts on a screen. A humming sound started emanating from the various stations and they started glowing golden. Then they shifted and changed configuration. There appeared in the center of the circular Ops deck, three chairs, the one in the center slightly behind the other two. In front of those chairs were two stations interconnected with a large console spread between them. On a slightly higher level, spread throughout the perimeter of the room were several stations. Fargo read the labels on each of them… engineering, tactical, science 1 and 2, environmental control…

At the end of the room where the seats were facing, a large floor to ceiling viewing screen was situated, and on that screen, they could see the Iconian, Wraith, and Alteran fleets moving to and fro, making repairs, and ferrying people back and forth.

The Commander moved to the center seat and touched one of the arms. He swung the seat around and sat down. "This is the bridge. When we were building Avalon, we really didn't see a need for a separate Ops center and bridge as one would not be used when the other was. We decided to use our replicator technology to synthesize whichever control center we needed at the time. We don't just use it here. We also use this type of approach in Sickbay." He looked around at the group. "Jack, it's a shame your daughter isn't here. She'd find it fascinating."

Carter nodded, then was momentarily taken aback by the fact that the Commander obviously knew about Zoe. He wondered if Duncan was also known.

"Oh yes. Certainly Duncan will need to see as well," The Commander suddenly said. "I'm sure he'd find it fascinating as well." The Commander looked him in the eye and winked.

"And now, if you all will excuse me, I need to coordinate the docking of the ships so we can get back to the Avalon Galaxy." He turned to Riker. "Would you be so kind as to show our visitors the offensive systems?"

"Certainly, Commander." He turned to the group. "If you'll accompany me, I'll show you what Avalon has up her sleeves."

"I'm sure you noticed that Avalon is somewhat more nimble than other stations this size."

"How do you make a vessel this size so maneuverable?" Sam wanted to know. "I saw it, and I still find it incredible!"

LaForge answered. "For maneuvering in close quarters, we use a modified, instantaneous relocation device that I once read of in a book. By relocating the core of an engine slightly, we are able to move the engine housing. This in turn moves the station itself. It's quite technical, but the upshot is that we punch in the coordinates of where we want to end up, and the computer relocates the engine in that direction. Pretty much nothing will stop the engine housings from getting there."

"As well as the relocators, we use inertial dampeners that would remove all inertia from a block of neutronium the size of a moon. If we dinna use them, we'd never be able to move this station at all," Scotty finished.

The weapons systems were quite fascinating to Carter, O'Neill, and Sheppard. They looked on in awe as Scotty pulled the inspection plate off of a photon torpedo, showing the antimatter charge through it's viewport. Henry and Sam were blown away by the compact size of the warp field generator. There were two sets of ten torpedo tubes equidistant from each other surrounding the outer rim of the station, one set on the upper side, and one on the lower side. As well, three tubes came out the bottom of the cylinder and three from the top.

They were also shown part of an array that surrounded the circumference of the station. There were arrays like it in several places. Scotty and LaForge called it a phaser array, and it was able to fire in any direction. Each emitter was steerable in an arc from forty-five degrees to one hundred thirty-five. As well, this arc was steerable through three hundred sixty degrees, thus any target could be hit from the array. Up to ten emitters in each array could be used at full power at any given time without harming it's power conduits. There were seven arrays surrounding the vertical shaft of the station, and three more around the outer rim, one facing down, one up, and one straight out.

Then there were weapons that were immediately recognizable by the Iconians, but super sized. There were railguns in the long axis of the station, and coming out of the outer rim. However, these were ingeniously designed to allow the acceleration of a slug as it sped through the perimeter of the station, rather than through a straight line.

As well as the railguns, there were plasma beams that drew their power directly from a matter bridge, and a special railgun that used a slug with a phasing generator built into it. It would be programmed to fire a phased slug that would remain phased until it had passed through an unlucky target's shields, then it would unphase to wreak it's havoc. The slug was a piece of neutronium the size of a watermelon surrounding a small, fist sized phasing generator.

Once they had finished the tour, the Commander met with Jackson, Carter, Sam, O'Neill, Thor, and Merlin in a briefing room off the side of the restored Ops center. Once they were all seated at the crescent shaped table, the Commander asked, "So how was the tour?"

Sam was exuberant as she talked about the possibilities for refitting the Iconian ships, while the Commander just grinned. When she was done, Thor also praised the facilities he saw, and expressed a desire to get the O'Neill refitted with some of the devices he had seen on board Avalon.

The Commander nodded and said, "Speak to the twins about getting whatever you need."

Finally, O'Neill couldn't stand it anymore. "Commander, I don't wish to be rude, but why are you helping us? From what I've seen of Ancients, you keep your noses out of the business of the physical plane."

"That is true, Jack," he answered. "That has been the policy of Ascended Ancients in the past. However, no longer."

"Why?" O'Neill asked flatly.

The Commander glanced over to Merlin. The wizard shook his head and said, "Disclosure of this magnitude is up to you and the First, Commander."

"No, Merlin. It is not something that can be decided by one person, or even two. The First has said that if you and I feel that we need to make disclosure, we have his blessing. I need to know what your feelings on the matter are."

Merlin nodded. "Then we need to include these people in our thought processes. They are worthy of that."

For several long moments, the Commander mulled this over. Finally he nodded.

"General, several of the people you think of as Ancients, are not. Merlin and I, for example, are considerably more powerful than an Ascended Ancient. We are from the same race, but we did not ascend like, say, the twins."

"What are you, then?" O'Neill asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"We are called 'Q'," Merlin explained.

"The Q are a race of…." the Commander started.

"Hyper intelligent, pan-dimensional beings?" Samantha asked, innocently.

Merlin smiled as he said to his great-grandfather. "I don't believe I've ever been called a mouse in quite that way."

A bright light suddenly filled the briefing room, and another man appeared, this one in a light blue, hooded robe that came down to his knees. He was wearing white pants and boots below the robe. He lowered the hood and said, "Nor have I." He sat down at the table, beside the Commander. He was a man of indeterminate age, with long dark hair and a grave expression. He looked to the Commander who motioned for him to proceed.

"I am the Q known as the 'First'. I became aware that the Commander and Merlin were having this conversation with you, so I came to offer my assistance." He looked over and simply asked, "Commander, if I may?"

"Please." The First looked to Merlin, and received confirmation.

"Very well. I address myself in this part of my explanation primarily to Samantha and Thor, as I understand that you will have the most scientific education.

"At a point in the later years of my life, I was a noted scientist, and I was asked to do a certain job. Unfortunately, I miscalculated, and a doorway was made through time and space. This door allowed me to travel to what we Q know of as the continuum.

"Over time and through scientific study, we have found that a person who enters the continuum through such a doorway in effect, ascends, but they draw power from a type of subspace that allows them to bend reality to their will."

He watched Sam and Thor's faces and saw understanding of the principles he was explaining there.

"So you are the ruler of the Q?" Carter asked him.

"Ah. You refer to my designation 'First'. In a manner of speaking, yes; I am the ruler of the Q. However, I am also referred to as 'First' because I am the first Q. When I went through the door to the continuum, I met the other Q there, and they told me that my creating the door, however inadvertently, had built the continuum."

"Wait a minute!" exclaimed O'Neill. "You met other Q there, but you created the continuum?"

"Affirmative. You must understand, General, time does not flow the same way inside the continuum as it does outside. In fact, the continuum exists completely separate from time as we know it here. A Q can travel anywhere he or she wishes in time, as long as they do not cross their own timeline."

"So, if I understand you correctly, First," Thor said carefully, "You are saying that you can travel wherever or whenever you wish as long as you don't meet yourself."

The First nodded affirmation. "To do so would be catastrophic."

"So do you rule the Ascended Ancients?" Carter asked.

"You seem to be obsessed with leadership, Jack," The First commented.

"Actually, we now coexist with them," Merlin said. "Once they found that they could not defeat me, the Alterans decided to try communication, something I was very willing to do.

"I knew that one day, a battle would occur. This battle would have to happen because it involved a fixed point in time. As a result, when the Alterans came to me willing to talk, they found that I was willing to let things rest as they were. For a time."

The First continued for him. "Ganos Lal had been dispatched by the Ancients to try to stop Merlin, and the ways in which she tried were fascinating."

Merlin shook his head. "Had she succeeded, First, she would have created a time paradox like none seen before or since."

The Commander nodded. "And if she had realized what you were… if any of the Ascended had realized what you were, they never would have tried that."

"What did she do?" Samantha asked.

Merlin answered. "She set herself up to rule our people, then tried to commit genocide against them."

"That doesn't seem like the Morgan Le Fay we know," Jackson argued.

"No," the Commander agreed. "The Morgan Le Fay, or Ganos Lal, that you know is a much changed person."

"Actually," Merlin countered, "Not to disagree with you, Commander, but I feel that she is a return to the person she once was."

The Commander nodded and the First said, "You know her much better than we do, Merlin, but I agree. The circumstances in her life changed her. Grief can drive a person to do things that they would never have considered. Now, she has dealt with that grief, and she has changed once more, for the better."

Carter privately wondered what type of grief could drive someone to genocide, but decided he probably didn't want to know. Instead, he said to Merlin, "You said that you did not rule the Ascended Ancients. Yet you were ruler of Atlantis ten thousand years ago."

"That is correct, Jack. I was working as Moros, within the government of the Alterans at that time. But just because I was ruler of one city, does not mean I was ruler of all Alterans," Merlin explained.

"You say the twins are not Q. Who else among the Alterans that we have met are just ascended ancients?" Thor asked.

"Most of the Alterans you have met are strictly ascended," the First said. "For example, the crew of the Tria, before they were killed by the replicators, ascended. Ganos Lal is ascended. The twins are ascended."

"Is that it?" O'Neill asked.

"General, for me to list the ascended ancients you have met would take more time than we have available."

O'Neill nodded. "So you are saying that Q are not the norm."

"No," Merlin answered. "We are the exception."

"All of this is fascinating," O'Neill said. "But you still haven't answered my question. Why?"

The first took a deep breath. "A Q's death is a fixed point in time. It must happen the way it has always happened, or the universe will tend to unravel. There is a certain Q that must die at a certain point in time which is drawing near. It is now appropriate for us to act."

O'Neill pursed his lips and nodded. He looked at his wife, who shrugged. Daniel said, "Works for me."

"Ok," O'Neill said. "That's what I wanted to know."

Shortly after, the meeting broke up with agreements for Avalon to take in the Iconian fleet and repair and upgrade it. The Iconians went to the observation deck and watched as Avalon tractored their ships aboard. Some were almost completely unrecognizable from damage, but Scotty just smiled and said, "Dinna fret. We'll have them repaired before you know it."

Fargo and Callister Raynes were watching closely as Nathan Stark was brought aboard. Callister had been working as Fargo's assistant in Engineering ever since Samantha had brought him to Altair to apply for the job. She had confidentially told Fargo what Merlin had done, and Fargo had been only too happy to give the young man a job. Sheppard had watched the assistant engineer closely and had been extremely impressed at his ability to work almost intuitively with any machinery..

As soon as LaForge released the tractor beam from Nathan Stark, both Fargo and Callister ran to the gangway. They couldn't get aboard and check out the ship quickly enough.

Scotty and LaForge followed at a more sedate speed, but as they watched, Scotty said to LaForge, "There's some good engineers, Lad."

LaForge agreed. "They certainly love their ship, don't they?"

"Aye. From what I can see, there's a lot of good ideas on her to love."

"It doesn't look to me like there's a lot of improvements necessary, Scotty."

"Nay. I dinna believe there are."

LaForge smiled. "But I've got a few ideas."

"I figured you probably would, Lad. And they probably coincide with my ideas."

LaForge let out a good laugh as they stepped into Nathan Stark. "I'll just bet they do, Scotty," he said to his friend.

The last of the Iconian fleet was brought aboard Avalon and secured, then the massive ship jumped into hyperspace and toward Earth.

Once in orbit, the engineering staff of Avalon worked tirelessly to rebuild the fleet. Scotty and LaForge were very impressed by the gravity drives of the Astreas class ships. As well, they managed to watch closely as the damage to the Starfighters was repaired. The agile little ships fascinated them both, and they poured over the designs.

Todd and Jardis left the solar system and headed to an asteroid drifting outside the Pegasus Galaxy, where they maintained a base. When they arrived, they got to work building their new fleet. They had already been given the Lantean version of Dr. Kellers retrovirus and they were easily able to find food on different planets. At the base they began to implement their long term plans.

Todd took a pathogen and infected a mindless drone with it. Then he released the drone onto a planet with all the resources he would need. The pathogen he used to infect the drone was a 'base virus'. The base that would be created would contain everything Todd would need to continue his work.

Within two weeks, the new base would be ready, complete with a naquadah reactor for power. Later Todd would get to work cloning loyal drones and commanders. Once this was complete, he would begin cloning queens.


	17. Chapter 17

A few weeks after the arrival of the Alteran fleet at the "Battle of Borealis", as it was becoming known, a governmental meeting was called in Atlantis. Now, the Alterans were scheduled to add their name to the Treaty of Icon. As well, those peoples in the treaty began talking about forming an association of races. Because of the treaty, and the name given them by the Alterans, the name considered for the coalition of races was Iconia.

Melia, a former member of the high council of Atlantis, was chosen to be the representative for the Alterans. The representatives of the six races came together to elect a leader for the government of Iconia. Several people were suggested, including Thor of the Asgard, and Lya of the Nox, but when Merlin's name was suggested, support for the others dwindled as his accomplishments were taken into account. When he was approached by Daniel Jackson with the suggestion, he asked for a couple of days to think about it.

"Certainly, Merlin," Jackson told him. "I had to think about this position as well, so I understand completely. My wife finally talked me into taking it, actually," he finished, glancing around at Merlin's apartment. He had never been here, despite his millenia long friendship with the wizard. He was looking at the fish in an aquarium against one wall when Merlin spoke. At his words, Jackson turned and stared.

"Frankly, Chancellor," Merlin said, "my wife will be quite intrigued by this as well."

"I'm sorry," Jackson said. "I wasn't aware you were married."

"I see," Merlin said. He seemed to ponder for a moment, then, "No, I don't think I ever have mentioned her to you." He looked Daniel in the eye for a moment, then said, "Now isn't that strange."

Daniel wondered about the significance of that, and reached out with his mind to see what he could discover, but it seemed as though Merlin was blocking his ability to search very far. Of course, in Jackson's apprenticeship with Merlin, he had learned that the longer one had been a Q, the more power they commanded, thus, Jackson's several thousand years compared to Merlin's millions, meant that Merlin had a far greater ability than he did. For a moment, Daniel wondered just what Merlin would be capable of.

Daniel glanced at Merlin's face, and saw that the wizard's eyes were twinkling. As Daniel searched with his mind, he cocked his head slightly in question and Merlin said, "I can sense you searching, Daniel. I'm sorry that I have to shield you for the time being. Consider this to be one of the things I mentioned before that must remain hidden."

"You know, Merlin," Jackson said, irritated, "this is really frustrating. I mean… I have all this power, and I'm not able to use it to save my people."

The old Q nodded. "I understand. But we both know why that is." At Daniel's nod, he continued. "Were we to try to change things, it could be catastrophic. I, for one, do not wish to be responsible for causing the end of the universe, or even of my people."

Daniel looked back at the aquarium. "Do you really think it could come to that?"

"Not could, Daniel. Would. Things have to occur in a certain way. There is room for change on one level, but those changes, if on too large a scale, can cause massive destruction of what we know to be reality.

"The situation we have right now, however, is somewhat different. Because of this man I have told you about, we have even less room for change. He will die, but it must be at a certain time, or it could have drastic effects."

"Do we know when he must die?" Daniel asked.

Merlin nodded. "Yes, and somehow, he must be restrained until then so that the continuity of the universe is maintained. It will take many Q to accomplish this, including you and Dr. Marten."

"How long do you think we have until he is here?"

"Not long, Daniel. I know that he has inserted himself into the Origin religion. He will be here with them," Merlin explained.

They talked for a little while longer, then Daniel went home. Some of what Merlin had said disturbed him deeply. He felt that Merlin was completely trustworthy, and that If he accepted the job of being president of the Iconian Alliance, he would exercise that job to the best of his considerable ability. However, Daniel knew that he was not telling everything that he knew about this man who must die.

No one saw Merlin for a week. The delegates from the Iconian nations were in the Atlantis Council chambers, when he entered the balcony. He waited until Jackson acknowledged him.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the Iconian Council. I would like to inform you that I have decided to accept your nomination as Chancellor of the Iconian Alliance," he said formally.

Two days later, Merlin was sworn in as ruler of the Iconian Alliance.

Ten years later….

Merlin was standing in the council chambers of the city ship, Camelot, which was, in turn, floating on an ocean on the planet of Heliopolis. Within two minutes, he was scheduled to speak to the entire Iconian Alliance, reviewing the first decade of his chancellorship. He was not nervous, as he had been a leader for a longer time than he cared to think about, but this decade speech was special. So much had been accomplished.

He received the signal, and stepped up to the podium, straightening his robes as he went.

"My fellow Iconians," he began, "it has been ten years since we began as a unified people, and in that ten years much has happened. I am going to let the chancellor for each individual nation speak to you about their people, but I would like to say it has been a privilege to be your leader these last ten years. The nations represented in our Alliance are very diverse, but in diversity comes strength. Considering the scope of the universe, there is an infinite possibility for diversity, and an infinite possibility for combination. That is something fostered by an alliance such as ours, and we can be proud of it.

"We know that conflict is coming with the Ori, thanks to Ganos Lal and the watch she is keeping for us from Cimmeria. The Ori are moving on this part of Avalon. They will attempt to steal this diversity from us and subjugate us and those we seek to protect. But we have been preparing for them. That is what we have done in these ten years. We have combined our diversities and gained strength from them. Each of our member nations have helped the others, and where we could have said, 'We will not interfere with the development of our weaker brothers', we have deliberately added our strength together, and have multiplied it.

"Our people have unified in so many ways, but perhaps the greatest combined achievement is the improvements made to the stargates. The new gates are much more compact, and can even work without a receiving gate on the other end. The combined technology that has gone into these new gates is truly impressive, and we can be proud to be a part of the alliance that made them.

"We are going to hear from our member nations now. Let's hear how our differences have made us stronger."

The first to speak was Rak'nor, of the Jaffa. He strode up to the podium with the supreme confidence of a man bred to battle and skilled in the art of war. He stood surveying the crowd full of delegates from all over the galaxy. "Greetings," he intoned, solemnly, "I have the honor of speaking here tonight, to tell you how my people have benefitted from this alliance.

"The Jaffa have gained great military strength over the course of this alliance. Our ships have been upgraded with a list of improvements. Asgard Plasma Beams, Terran Gravity Drives, Alteran Phasers and Photon Torpedoes. The list goes on.

"Physically, my people have been strengthened by the Nox Virus. A typical Jaffa is now fifty percent stronger than he once was, and what little sickness there was among us is now gone."

"While we still choose to live somewhat simply compared to other Iconians, we have access to the same technology."

Rak'nor spoke of the strength that had been built with the help of the military leadership. O'Neill, Bra'tac, and Thor had been chosen to lead the military arm of the government. They were subject to the council, but ultimately Merlin had the final word.

The next representative was Anise of the Tok'ra. Jack O'Neill, seated in the balcony with his wife and family, was not a huge fan of the Tok'ra in general. However, Anise took that feeling and multiplied it several times. He had heard rumors that over the last decade, she had mellowed significantly, and if that were true, this speech would reflect that. As he waited for her to start, he saw Anise taking in the crowd. When she saw him, she stopped and held his eye for several seconds. She raised an eyebrow, then broke the eye-contact. She looked back to the middle of the auditorium and began. "Ten years ago, my people signed the treaty of Icon along with the Jaffa, Nox, Asgard, and Terrans. At the time, we had no idea where this relationship would lead, but we wanted to ally ourselves with people who would join in the fight against the Ori. We had fought our cousins, the Goa'uld, when they tried to pass themselves off as gods, and we had no desire to end up serving another race of people who strove to do the same.

"Our chancellor, Merlin, has said that we have each taken something from this alliance which has strengthened us. This is true. Before the alliance, the Tok'ra had technology matching that of the Goa'uld. Our attitudes were similar as well. While we did not claim to be gods, we did have the same pride as the Goa'uld." Here, Anise looked directly at O'Neill and Sam sitting in the balcony. "That is not the case anymore." She looked away and said. "We have gained many things, including the technological upgrades that the Jaffa have obtained. Their technology is Goa'uld in origin as well, and we have collaborated in upgrading. As well, our 'mother', Ageria, has been cloned by the Asgard, Loki, and we are multiplying in number again.

"These things have strengthened us immeasurably. All of that aside, however, and I will say that the single most important thing that I believe my people have attained in the last ten years is knowledge. We have learned that we are not as powerful as we once believed, and that there are things to learn even from those who we foolishly once considered far below us."

Anise scanned the crowd, her eyes finally alighting on Merlin and resting there for a moment. Then she once more made eye contact with O'Neill and there was the ghost of a smile on her lips as she said. "We, the Tok'ra, have been humbled, and we thank the alliance for that. We will never be so quick to dismiss others again." With that, Anise thanked the audience for their attention, and quickly left the podium.

O'Neill was thunderstruck. He had heard that she had mellowed, but assuming this was real, it was far and beyond what he had hoped for. His thoughts about the Tok'ra were interrupted as Ava Dixon stepped onto the platform. Ava was the representative for the artificial people of the Iconian Alliance. "Where do I begin?" she said when the audience had quieted. "Ten years ago, my people weren't even considered to be people. We were a commodity that could be owned and used for personal gain, then Chancellor Jackson and Dr. Eric Marten drafted the bills that would ultimately give us our freedom. We signed the treaty soon after the Alterans did. Obviously, the first thing we have obtained through this alliance is our freedom, but there's much more than that. We gained the ability to shape our own destiny in the way we saw fit. Because of this alliance, I am a governmental official. Callister Raynes, Chancellor Merlin's grandson, is a hyperspace physicist. Andy Lawson, who started out as a sheriff's deputy in the small town of Eureka, is now head of the United States Secret Service. Each one of our people has been given the opportunity to choose who and what they wish to be, and they have been allowed to excel in their chosen field." Ava paused and blinked. Her eyes were moist. "That is what my people have gained from this alliance, and we are grateful for it."

As Ava Dixon left the platform, there was thunderous applause. She received an embrace from Lya of the Nox, who was stepping onto the platform. As Lya stepped to the podium, the room grew still.

"My people met the Terrans twenty years ago, and at that time, it seemed that some of them had potential. However some of them didn't, and it was honestly very troublesome for us to decide who was who." She shook her head at the memory. "As time went by, however, we found that the Terrans with potential far outnumbered the ones without. Now my words probably sound very arrogant, but please understand that the Nox have existed for eons, just as we are now. We have been at peace for that time as well, so when we joined this alliance, it was with trepidation.

"Like the Tok'ra, we did not wish to allow the Ori to become dominant in this or any other galaxy, but it seemed to us that the only way to prevent this was to destroy them. This is simply not the way of the Nox! We do not like their destruction, but for the preservation of many, we will allow it."

At Lya's words, O'Neill groaned. It was not that he disagreed with Lya. In fact, he agreed completely, but her saying this seemed wrong somehow. He had always considered the Nox way of life as something to be reached for. If they felt that destruction of the Ori was the only viable option, something great had been lost from the universe.

Lya was continuing, and O'Neill listened, but for the rest of her speech, he felt grief. "What we have gained through this alliance, like the Tok'ra, is knowledge, gained from the Terrans." She faced Daniel Jackson and said, "At our first meeting, you and your friends attempted to help us. While we did not need your help, we came to understand that you were willing to help us, even though we had offered you nothing in return, nor did you expect that we could offer anything. Your willingness to help sprang from nothing but the purest of motives. I mistakenly told you later that your race had learned nothing. I was so wrong, Daniel."

Now, Lya addressed the entire gathering. "In the intervening time, the Nox have seen the Terrans for what they are. Yes, there are those who would make war unnecessarily, but as a whole, the race is not like that. We have shielded ourselves from almost everyone in the galaxy, but that cannot continue. We see the Terrans willing to die for others, and we find that commendable. This is what we have learned: That there comes a time when we must be willing to help when those who are strong will impose their views on those who are weak. We will no longer sit idly by."

O'Neill felt a bit better with what Lya had said, but it still seemed a great loss to him that the Nox would remain peaceful at all cost no more.

Daniel Jackson was walking to the podium now. "Wow," he said as he stepped up to it, "it's fascinating to hear the perspectives of my fellow delegates. I have a list of things I'm going to mention, because we lost so much when the Aschen attacked ten years ago.

"What we lost was immeasurable. Cities were wiped out. Farmland was destroyed. Ninety-nine percent of plant and animal life was destroyed, and what was left was unusable because of the Aschen virus.

"We had no choice at first. We utilized some of the worlds left from the Aschen Confederation as farmland so that we could continue to grow foodstuffs for our own people. Over time, we have repaired our society with the help of the Iconian Alliance.

"We all know that this alliance is not just an arm of justice, but one of it's first acts was one of retribution against the Aschen for the reprehensible attack on Earth. Through this alliance, the Nox virus not only countered the Aschen one, but increased both Terran strength and life spans by about three times.

"From this alliance, we have gained the ability to produce power cheaply and efficiently. We have distributed Ancient style power crystals to each of our citizens. These simply plug into each home's electrical systems in the same place they used to plug into the electrical grids. These same crystals have replaced every form of power, even in personal transportation vehicles. The Asgard, in conjunction with our automotive industry, developed electric motors as powerful as the internal combustion engines that once polluted our planet.

"But the automotive industry is used chiefly for pleasure now. Most of the transportation of both people and cargo is through Alteran redesigned Aschen transportation chambers. Someone can literally live in Tokyo, and work in Chicago, but have only a ten minute commute.

"Which brings me to another point. Both Tokyo and Chicago were destroyed in the Aschen attack, but they, as well as other cities have been rebuilt. Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, and Peking, to name a few. These cities all exist again, but not as fixed, earthbound cities. They are floating cities which are all capable of space travel. The first ones we built were based on the Lantean design for Atlantis or Camelot, but several more have been constructed which are of Terran design. Eureka and her sister, Global Dynamics, are examples of this. With the assistance of the Asgard and GD, we have also built some vertical farming facilities which are an adaptation of the city ship design. One tower can grow enough to feed three hundred thousand people. Each farm ship can grow enough to feed several million.

"In a different area of expertise, one of our foremost research scientists, Dr. Jade O'Neill, is exploring the possibilities of ascension with the help of several Asurans. Dr. Eli Wallace is working with Thor and Elizabeth Weir, developing non-sentient nanotechnology which can safely adapt to the growing needs of a community. Our security is entrusted to the Asgard, Terrans, and Jaffa. We are governed by representatives from each of our member nations. These are all examples of our alliance in action. For this and so much more, I am truly grateful to each of you."

Next to speak was the First. He stood at the podium in a light colored robe, his long dark hair in stark contrast with it. He gazed over the crowd, not smiling, but with a charisma that invited people to trust him. "Greetings," he said simply. "It is most gratifying to speak to so many distinguished people. My colleagues have given many examples of how the Iconian Alliance has benefitted their races, and as I listen to what they have said, I rejoice in the strengths of diversity. It is a strength which the Ori, however much they may try, will not be able to defeat. It is possible that the Ori may win battles. Even some campaigns. However, the indomitable spirit which permeates this alliance will define our victory.

"Now, I have been asked to tell you what the Q have gained through this alliance. While researching this, one of my fellow Q asked me, 'how can the Q gain anything from this merging?' The implication was that the Q are so far above corporeal beings, that we cannot learn anything from them or even benefit from our association with them. Each time a new Q is born, the continuum grows in strength. No Q would argue that such a child is as strong as one of the 'adult' Q, yet, we all benefit.

"I realize that the comparison to children will understandably offend some. Let me say that I draw the line there. There is a comparison, nothing more. Recently, the Orbanians, Langarans, Galarans, Tagreans, and Hebridans have joined our alliance, and they have each offered their strength to it as well as their unique gifts.

"In the past, we have had two extremes in the continuum. We have had those who go out of their way to interfere with corporeal matters. This interference is manifested with both good and bad results. We have also had those who, like the Nox used to be, would seek to keep the Q isolated from all other life in the universe. As the First, I do not favor either one of these extremes. Instead, I seek a balanced approach where we limit our interference to helping others and the consensus in the continuum is the same.

"Many in the continuum would say it can be a very boring place to live after uncounted millenia, and I submit to you that what the Q have gained through this alliance is a purpose."

The First finished speaking, and Merlin walked back to the podium. "We've seen such growth in the last few years. It's amazing to me what our people have accomplished in so short a time. What we have created will last far into the future as a testament to our people and their cooperation."

After the conference, Merlin met with O'Neill, Carter, Jackson and Thor in his office before they gated back to Earth. Thor and O'Neill wanted to fill Jackson and Carter in on the upgrades which had been made to the Iconian fleet. The upgrades represented even more cooperation between the people's of the alliance, but these were things that were not for the general public to know.

"I understand Thor's people have upgraded the O'Neill class," Jackson said to O'Neill with a slight smirk on his face.

"Yeah," O'Neill said with a sigh. "It's tough being a hero."

Carter shook his head and asked Thor, "Why'd you ever name that ship after him anyway?"

"Both the ship and the class were named after O'Neill because, at the time, he represented the ultimate in a warrior class to the Asgard."

"Really?" Carter asked, incredulous. "Jack? You've got to be kidding!"

"No," Thor said smiling. "I'm quite serious. Now, of course, the O'Neill class is being upgraded into a dreadnaught."

"A dreadnaught?" Jackson sounded as flabbergasted as Carter. "Jack? Fear nothing? Doesn't seem to fit, Thor."

"Wait a minute!" O'Neill protested. "I think it's a great designation for my namesakes."

"Right!" Carter said, smiling broadly. "What else have you got for ships?"

"Well," O'Neill said, "going down the line, the O'Neill is the dreadnaught. The Valhalla is a carrier. The Aurora is a heavy duty battleship. The Astraeus is our standard battleship. The Alteran cruisers are used as our fleet's heavy cruisers and we use the Deadelas class as a destroyer or scout vessel."

"Also," Thor added, "we are working on a small two-man ship called the spider class. It is named that because it is used as an ambush attack vessel. It is painted black so it can sit in the dark and wait for its prey to come to it. It is set up to use transporter railguns. The slugs are materialized outside the ship with inertia pre-loaded. If the spider can sneak up close enough to it's prey, the slugs can be transported inside the shields before they hit the vessel.

"We have also designed a special type of mine. We call it the 'singularity mine'. It is designed to drain energy from any ship within it's range, and then convert that energy into high frequency radiation."

O'Neill nodded. "It's a nasty weapon, but very effective."

Carter started to respond, but a form started to coalesce to one side of Merlin's desk. Merlin turned and stood as Melia solidified.

"I'm sorry to disturb your meeting, Chancellor," she said. "but I must inform you that we just received word from Bra'tac."

"Yes?"

"He informs us that Ganos Lal has been killed. The Ori are headed this way, Sir." As soon as she finished speaking, Melia faded from view.


	18. Chapter 18

On the other side of the Avalon galaxy, the Ori had been building up their forces. Ten years had been devoted to building this fleet, and now, with close to seventy attack ships, it was time to strike, and they were starting to move. They had jumped to hyperspace, and were moving quickly so the unbelievers had very little time to prepare.

Twenty of the ships jumped out of hyperspace in orbit of Vis Uban, a fleet which the Ori assumed would be able to take the planet very quickly. However, the defenses at Vis Uban were somewhat more sophisticated than the Ori had expected.

When the Ori vessels dropped from hyperspace, they found themselves facing a dozen Astraeus class battleships, a Valhalla, and ten BC-304/C ships. They squared off with the Terran ships, but when destruction came, it was from an unexpected direction. As well as the ships, there were ten satellites in orbit, which recognized the Ori ships as not belonging in orbit, and began to pepper them with weaponry. Three of the Ori ships simply vaporized as they were hit in critical areas, and the rest decided that sitting motionless in orbit was not a good idea. They started moving, but they had waited longer than was prudent. Valhalla, a carrier, had launched it's starfighters which took the Ori vessels by surprise.

Next, the highly nimble Astraeus class ships began to fire and launch waves of fighter drones. The drones joined with the starfighters and together, they started strafing the surfaces of the Ori ships.

The BC-304s had their own special jobs to do. They darted in and out between the Ori ships, inflicting damage, and drawing the Ori guns toward them rather than the more heavily armed Astraeus ships. They, in turn, targeted and fired, taking out a few more of the Ori vessels.

The Ori crews were perhaps fanatical when it came to their belief in their gods. Many were even uneducated, but they were not stupid. They saw that they were outclassed when they lost the eighth of their ships, they decided that living to fight another day was probably the better course of action. As one, they jumped into hyperspace and retreated the way they had come.

While these twenty ships were fighting above Vis Uban, another twenty dropped out of hyperspace above Chulak. There, they met up with a fleet of three dozen ha'tak. These latest in the class originally designed by the Goa'uld were not the primitive ships that they once were, nor were the crews untrained and kept in the dark about so much of their ship. These new Jaffa were extremely well trained, and they were fully aware of what needed to be done on board their ships to fight effectively.

As soon as the Ori vessels dropped into normal space, the Jaffa ships whirled on them, and started firing. No one in the Iconian fleet would wait for communication to be established with these Ori ships. They knew exactly who they were and why they were present. News of the death of Morgan LeFay had been broadcast to all of the fleet commanders, and as a result the Ori would not be given a chance to get the first shot. Morgan LeFay had been instrumental in combining the technologies of the Iconain Alliance. She had worked with the twins, Scotty and LaForge, as well as several other engineers, and had often blended the technologies into a single working ship. As well, she had been loved by all the the people she worked with, being personable and able to discern people's wants and likes.

LeFay had also set up education and advanced medical systems on Chulak, improving life for the Jaffa. Now they had a chance to avenge her death, and if the Ori were to advance, the Jaffa were certainly going to make them feel every inch of ground they obtained.

Today, however, was not the Ori's day. The Jaffa lost two ships, one of which was rather spectacular as it did a kamikaze run, taking out two Ori ships in the process. In all, the Ori lost ten.

As the Ori ships limped away, Bra'tac was heard to transmit toward them, "Run! Maybe Adria will be merciful if you lose no more ships."

But the worst defeat that the Ori suffered on this day, by far, was when thirty ships dropped out of hyperspace to try to take the planet of Heliopolis. Fortuitously, every ship in the Alteran fleet was orbiting their adopted home planet, including the immense Avalon. As soon as the Ori ships scanned the space surrounding their ships, they began moving as far away from Avalon as they could. However, that was not to be. Ten Alteran battleships boxed in the Ori vessels, setting up such a crossfire that they couldn't move away. Then the massive doors on Avalon opened, and wave after wave of starfighters flew out of the station. These were Alteran Starfighters, and they were considerably stronger than the Terran version, something that became apparent when they started strafing the Ori ships. Massive explosions rocked the giant warships as the little fighters pounded away at them.

One starfighter, in particular, was leading attacks, jumping from one warship to another, followed by nine fighters determined to stay on his tail. They were hard pressed to keep up, however, as the pilot seemed to care not for the Ori shots that were continually chasing and missing his ship. He was known as Ca Rel, and had handpicked each of the members of his squadron and trained them mercilessly. He was known as one of the best pilots in the Alteran fleet, and in fact was the only person who had ever flown the city ship, Camelot. Matching his daring was another squadron of ten fighters led by his sister, Ca Ra. The two had placed wagers on which of them could inflict the most damage to Ori ships during this defense campaign, and aboard Avalon, computers were recording every shot made by each starfighter.

Ca Rel's ship dove in towards the engine section of one of the warships, and he released a phasing drone. It was similar to the Alteran drones used by the city ships, except it was programed to be autonomous. Once inside the shields, it would target the largest power source it could scan and destroy it. Then, if it was still viable, it would find the next largest power source, and so on. Ca Rel's drone phased itself out of sync, passed through the shields as though they weren't there, and then came into sync with the rest of the Ori ship. It found the reactor powering the ship and went to work. Once it destroyed the ships' reactor, it zeroed in on those weapon's systems which had reserve power left. The drone took the shortest route, which happened to be through the most densely populated part of the ship, to the forward weapons array. The shields were now down, and debris started drifting out of the hole left by the drone as it entered the hull. Suddenly, the forward part of the hull exploded outward as the drone shot through, leaving a gaping hole where the weapons array used to be.

Ca Ra watched as the remaining guns of the warship blasted wildly, neatly blasting a hole through a neighboring Ori warship's bridge. She had to swing her fighter wildly to miss being hit by a couple of explosions herself. Unfortunately, another one of the guns hit an Alteran cruiser, blasting it completely in two. Ca Rel saw the carnage as well, but he wasn't sure if it was a chain reaction from the damage his drone had inflicted or just a lucky shot by the people manning the weapon. Regardless, he vowed he'd not send a drone through the shields until they discovered what had happened.

Elsewhere, Avalon was using her torpedoes and phasers, but the weapon with the greatest effect was the phasing railgun. It fired a slug the size of a watermelon, made of neutronium, which was phased to pass through shields, just as Ca Rel's drone had done. A simple sensor trigger brought the slug back into phase as soon as it detected the absence of shield energy around it. Avalon was targeting the Ori reactors with the railgun, and it was having devastating effects on the fleet. Finally, after eighteen of the ships had been either destroyed or completely incapacitated, the remaining Ori retreated. They were starting to enter hyperspace just as Avalon hit the reactor of one. The resulting explosion of the accelerating ship had impressive results. Nine made it into hyperspace, but the window was disrupted, and as the last two ships tried to enter it, it collapsed. They plowed through the debris of the exploding ship, and left burning streaks spreading out in the direction the rest of the fleet had taken.

At the Supergate…

Ten Ori warships were staked out in a one hundred kilometer radius of the gate, waiting, and when the wormhole opened, they began spiraling outward, as one hundred more warships emerged. Once the gate shut down, each ship came to a halt, relative to it. On board Adria's flagship, the fiftieth ship to come through, the Doci stood looking at the viewer. Adria herself stood behind him, and she demanded that her face be broadcast to each ship now poised ready to strike at her command.

"Followers of Origin," she began, "this is our time. We will take this universe for the Ori! They will not be able to stand in our way. In the past, you were dependent on the Ori for your victories, but now, you have been trained in battle tactics. You are no longer uneducated. We can grab hold of victory and take it! Follow the orders of your priors, for they hear from the Doci who hears from me! We will overcome!"

With that, the broadcast ended, and they entered hyperspace, headed for their stronghold in Avalon for final preparation of the attack. The Doci wore a superior smile as he thought of the revenge he would take on the one called 'the Commander'.

In Atlantis…

Merlin had arrived at Jack and Allison's apartment earlier in the day. The apartment was a spacious set of rooms, near the top of one of the residential towers. The living area had windows that opened onto a balcony on two sides of the apartment. The balcony overlooked much of the city and from it you could see the landing areas. Merlin was sitting at a table drinking a cup of tea talking to his grandson. Even though he was chancellor of the Alliance, Merlin refused to have a contingent of guards. An honor guard at official functions was one thing, but as a Q, bodyguards for his protection, especially at his grandson's home, were completely unnecessary.

"So when do I get to meet my grandmother?" The question took Merlin completely by surprise. He could very often read Jack, but this time, there hadn't been a hint of what he was thinking about.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked, stalling.

"My grandmother. You know, Mom's mom. Your wife. I haven't met her, or even seen her in all the time I've known you."

Merlin smiled slightly. His grandson's personality was a contrast to his own. Where Jack had a quirky sense of humor, and a personality that seemed representative of 'everyman', Merlin's was the type that inspired people to follow him. People would gladly follow him into a burning building with no hope of escape. He had the air of a great Shakespearean actor. Indeed, people could easily see him playing Macbeth, or delivering Marc Antony's speech. But no matter their differences, both men would do anything for the protection of those people they were sworn to protect.

Merlin looked at his grandson over his cup. "In time, Jack, I will introduce her to you."

"Where is she? How come she's not on Heliopolis with you?"

Merlin set down his cup. "What makes you think she's not on Heliopolis?"

"Well… I just… I don't know. I've never seen her there."

"Well, Jack, you're absolutely right. She's actually doing recon work for us, on the other side of Avalon, like Ganos Lal was doing."

"Uh… Grandpa. Ganos Lal was recently killed."

Merlin glanced at his grandson, then back to where he was staring out at the ocean. "Yes, Jack, I know."

Carter shook his head, "And you're ok with your wife being away doing the same work?"

The wizard smiled as he looked back at Carter. "Yes, Jack. Keep in mind, she's Q, while Ganos Lal was simply ascended."

Jack shook his head. He had learned one thing anyway. His grandmother was Q, not merely an ascended. He knew his mother had to have been Q as well, and because of that, he was still a bit shaky on how she could have died in a car accident, given the obvious power of the Q. "Grandpa," he asked, "how did my mother die?"

Merlin stopped smiling and turned to gaze at his grandson with compassion. "Jack, my daughter was being disciplined when she was your mother. She was fobbed."

"Like Nathan?"

"Your mother and Nathan both rebelled when they were young. They were fobbed to teach them a sense of responsibility."

"You said that Nathan was dead, but your son was still alive," Jack observed, "so is the same true about Mom?"

Merlin shifted uncomfortably in his chair, but he nodded in the affirmative.

"So Mom is still alive somewhere?"

"You must understand Jack," Merlin said, "that when a fobbed Q 'dies' that personality is merged into the whole. Your mother is now part of the whole of my daughter. Nathan has been unfobbed, and my son knows that he is Q again. My daughter has not been."

"So she hasn't learned responsibility? It seems to me that Mom was very responsible. Who makes the determination that she hasn't learned her lesson? Who fobbed her?" Jack was understandably upset as he defended his mother, and his questions were coming rapidfire.

"The rest of the Q made that determination when she was placed on trial. As for who fobbed her, that was your grandmothers' and my responsibility as her parents. It was a very difficult thing to do. Then a few years later, we had to fob Jan… er... Nathan."

Jack looked shocked at Merlin. "Nathan is Janus?" Several times, his grandfather had mentioned Janus, and several times he had mentioned Nathan, but he had never indicated that they were the same person.

As if reading Jack's thoughts, as he probably was, Merlin answered, "Jack, I have told you that you will learn things when it is the proper time." Jack nodded and Merlin continued. "Well if I'm not mistaken," there was a flash of light and another chair and person were suddenly at the table, "we're about to have a visitor," Merlin finished.

"Hello, Father," the newcomer said to Merlin. He had dark hair, a friendly face, and a ready smile. He looked to Jack to be roughly his age, although since Jack assumed this was Janus, he knew that his estimate had to be off by a considerable amount of time. Janus turned to him, and if he had doubted that this was Nathan, that was quickly gone when the newcomer said, "Hiya, Jack. I hear you're no longer chasin' the bad guys, huh?" He turned serious and continued, "But you're still taking care of Ally. Thank you."

Jack simply nodded. Surprisingly, he felt a lump in his throat as he remembered the last time he had seen this man and the words they had shared.

The door from the apartment slid open and Allison came out carrying a tray with two cups of tea. She stopped abruptly as she saw Janus. "I'm sorry," she said to Jack, "I wasn't aware there was someone else here." She didn't ask the obvious question of how he had gotten onto the balcony without coming through the apartment. She had seen enough comings and goings by various Q that such a question wasn't necessary.

"Hello, Ally," Janus said. Allison had been looking at her husband, but the way Janus said those two words, made her turn, startled, toward him. She almost dropped her tray and the color drained from her face.

"This is Janus, Ally," Jack said, "and yes, he was Nathan," he finished lamely.

Above Heliopolis…

A fleet was gathering to counterattack the Ori. Merlin's wife, Che Ryl, was delivering valuable information from the area of the Avalon Galaxy that the Ori had already subjugated. Thus, the Ori stronghold was known. The Iconians simply called it, Origin, as there was no official name for the planet.

The fleet was comprised of twelve Astraeus, ten of the 304s, two Valhallas, twelve O'Neills, and five Auroras. They were given instructions to not necessarily take the planet, but to concentrate on inflicting as much damage as possible.

They made the jump into hyperspace for the trip across the galaxy. On their arrival at Origin, the 304s started making strafing runs on the massive Ori fleet. The Valhallas opened their hangers and several wings of starfighters poured out, joining the 304s.

On board one of the Auroras, the Cursus, Captain Sha Non Odan El was keeping a close eye on her viewscreen, watching for openings that the phasers and photon torpedoes could pass through. This wasn't nearly the chore it once was, however. The weapons systems on Cursus were designed to avoid hitting certain ships. In fact, were one of those ships to be hijacked, it would take considerable effort to be able to do more than disable it with an Alteran vessel. The fact of the matter was that phasers would not fire at a friendly ship, and torpedoes were programmed to go around one. Thus, for the most part, Cursus simply had to fire towards the Ori fleet. Since the battle was sublight, there was little danger of a lightspeed weapon like phasers hitting something they shouldn't.

Another of the Auroras, the Titan, was under the command of Riker. The fleet of Auroras was technically under Sha Non Oden El's command, but she had seen Riker's skill more than once, and had given him free reign in this battle. She observed as Titan began dancing this way and that, never staying still long enough to be targeted. The Auroras tied their navigation systems together so the ships were in no danger of colliding, then she had her best helmsman imitate the flight style of Titan. Her helmsman was even better than Riker's and soon Cursus would have been impossible to predict even by the most seasoned pilot.

The Ori were completely consumed with their defense against the Iconians when a hyperspace window opened and ten ha'taks emerged. They took up positions below the Ori and started bombarding the planet below. The ha'tak was entirely suited to the task as the Goa'uld had designed it to be able to subdue a planet from orbit. The Jaffa controlling them were still furious over the death of Ganos Lal, and they were not in the mood to be merciful to the Ori. Their lower weapons were picking off targets on the planet's surface, and the upper were joining in the fray with the rest of the Iconian fleet. It looked like the Iconians would prevail until another window opened and twenty Ori attack vessels emerged along with five of the largest Ori ships the Iconians had ever seen. They were mammoth: at least three times the size of the traditional Ori ship. When they opened fire, it became apparent that their size was indicative of their firepower as well.

On board the 304, Daedalus, one of the newest ZPM powered 304s, a shot from one of the new Ori ships hit it right on the spine. The shields held, but the lights dimmed and several circuits blew. While backups kicked on, the engineer noted that the power levels, previously at seventy-five percent, were now down to fifty. He called his commander as another bolt hit, lowering the shields to twenty percent. "Sir! We've got to get out of here! Our shields are down to twenty percent and still falling!"

Colonel Robert Johnson, commander of the Daedalus, ordered his ship out of the fray and for his engineer to make repairs, but it was too late. Another blast hit the ship, ripping a hole through the spine. The ship was not broken in two pieces. At least not until it collided with one of the smaller Ori ships in a glancing blow. This left the Ori none the worse for wear, but broke Daedalus into several pieces of scrap.

Riker saw the punishment the ships in the fray were taking and called for an immediate withdrawal. Sha Non Oden El took in the situation and added her voice to his. Thor, in command of the group as a whole, agreed. He beamed aboard his ship whatever sensitive pieces of Iconian technology he could, as did the other O'Neills, and then they entered hyperspace for the trip back to Heliopolis.

Once they dropped out of hyperspace, they took stock of the damage. They had lost three 304s, one Astraeus, one O'Neill and seven starfighters. The key components of those ships had been beamed aboard the remaining O'Neills as they prepared to retreat, but by far, the worst news of the battle, was the fact that only nine ha'taks had returned, and no O'Neill had any debris from a ha'tak aboard.


	19. Chapter 19

One month after the Iconian attack at Origin, news came from Che Ryl of berserker drones attacking human worlds in the Cimmerian part of the galaxy.

Thor was in Atlantis when news came, and O'Neill started pounding on the door of the apartment Thor used while on Earth. Thor opened it and O'Neill stood toe to toe with him. In a bit of irony, Thor actually had two inches on O'Neill now.

"You said the Berserker drones weren't a problem, Thor," O'Neill said, his voice icy calm.

"I know I did, O'Neill," Thor said, his voice heavy with sadness. He turned and sat down heavily on one of the couches in the room.

O'Neill, for his part, was left unsure what to do. He had been prepared for defensiveness from Thor. Instead, Thor was clearly as confused as O'Neill about the attack. He sat down across from Thor and they didn't say anything for a long while. Finally, Thor said, "We need to get out there, see how many drones we're dealing with, and take them out."

O'Neill slowly nodded. "I agree, but let's make sure this ends them. I don't want to be worrying about drones when we've got the Ori to contend with."

Thor and O'Neill met with Bra'tac and they dispatched forty Iconian ships to deal with the drones. The drones were in deep space, moving in tight formation, heading in the general direction of Galara. Major General Cameron Mitchell was in charge of the Iconian fleet, and his flagship, the Valhalla, launched its starfighters as soon as they dropped out of hyperspace. The second Valhalla, Yggdrasil, did the same. Ca Rel, The Commander of the Air Group on Valhalla had his wing line up on the drones. "It's like shooting ducks in a barrel!" he exclaimed as he started his run.

"More like Galaga!" Joey Thompson, his second in command shouted as he started a run. "Just hold your trigger and you'll hit one of them!" He gave a war cry as he started his run, and while it wasn't quite as easy as he said, it did seem as though every shot he and his squadron made was connecting with a drone.

On the other side of the drone formation from Valhalla's air wing was Yggdrasil's. The CAG for this wing was Ca Ra. After the Battle of Heliopolis, she and her brother had both received their postings. Placing Ascended Ancients aboard the Terran carriers had triggered some animosity among the Terran elite fighters, but that faded soon after the skills the Ancients were demonstrated. In turn, the Terrans impressed the Ancients with their skills, and a competition was started between the two carrier's air wings. For this battle, Ca Ra and Ca Rel had decided their air wings would meet at the center of the formation of drones, giving each wing five layers of drones to work through.

Ca Ra started her run, and immediately realized something was wrong. She pulled her formation away from the drones and watched as the next formation attacked. "Yggdrasil, can you give me a reading on the shield frequencies these drones are using?"

"Affirmative, CAG. They appear to be identical to ha'tak frequencies."

"What?" Ca Ra exclaimed. "How can they be identical?"

The flight officer aboard the carrier sounded perplexed. "Unknown, CAG. But I can superimpose the frequency scans on each other and there are no variations at all."

On board Valhalla, Mitchell was listening in. "The missing ha'tak," he said into his microphone.

"That's a good bet, Sir," Ca Rel said. He had realized the problem almost as fast as his sister. "Recommend we use phasing drones." Both his and his sister's ships were the Alteran version of the starfighters, but the vast majority of his air wing had Terran versions. The fighters were being upgraded, but only twelve percent of his wing had been completed.

"You won't be able to complete the job," Mitchell observed.

"True, sir, but we'll do what we can," Ca Rel said. "Ca Ra, did you copy that?"

"Yes, I did," she confirmed. "I recommend that we forego the competition."

"Negative," Ca Rel disagreed. "If we attack from each side in an organized fashion, I think we'll have a better chance." As he was speaking, he maneuvered his starfighter into position for a run.

"I've only got twelve percent of my wing armed with phase drones, Bro," she told him. She couldn't see his ship, but she pulled hers into position as well.

"That's about how it is here, Sis," he answered.

"Just so you know," she said. "Ok, let's take them out," she told her wing. "Those armed with phase drones in the lead. The rest, follow behind and clean up the garbage."

On Earth…

In the night sky over London, a massive hyperspace window opened, so large, it could easily be seen by the citizens of the city. The fleet of ships that emerged from the window was a hundred ships strong. They quickly took up positions around the globe and started raining fire down on every major city they could find. Neither defense satellites nor Iconian ships pulled the Ori attackers from their task.

In between Cimmeria and Galara…

The battle wasn't going very well. The 304s, Astraeus class, and ha'taks had joined in the fray, but for some reason, the drones seemed to be able to devote an inordinate amount of power to their shields, and destroying them was proving to be costly. However, each person in the fleet realized that if the drones were to get through to Galara, there would be an even higher price paid by the Alliance.

"We need Avalon," Mitchell sent to Heliopolis, hoping and praying that the giant station could arrive in time.

"Sir," his communication officer said, stunned. "Heliopolis says Avalon has been dispatched to Earth. A fleet of Ori ships just dropped out of hyperspace and are attacking the surface!"

"WHAT?!" Mitchell exclaimed.

The drones had broke their formation, and were attacking all of the fleet now, and Mitchell had his hands full. Valhalla was not designed to maneuver. Like most carriers, it was designed to carry fighters, and allow them to defend it. Now, however, the starfighters were clearly out of their league. The phase drone supply was exhausted, and the little ships were next to useless against full ha'tak style shields.

Over Earth…

The Ori were totally absorbed with destroying cities, and for ten minutes that is exactly what they did. There was no worry about defending themselves as they diverted most of their power to shields.

Once they started losing ships, the Ori pulled out and entered hyperspace, but their goal had been accomplished. Over seven million on Earth were dead, and almost every major city had been seriously damaged. The damage could very well have been worse, but the heart of most of the Earth cities with populations over one million had been protected by shields. The Ori had only lost fifteen ships.

As soon as the Ori vessels left Earth orbit, Avalon was ordered to the drone battle. While the Commander did not relish the idea of leaving Earth unguarded, he knew it was possible to be back to Earth very quickly. Of course, there might be little left to defend by the time he was back, but Galara would definitely be in destroyed if the drones were allowed to arrive. Avalon jumped into hyperspace, and toward Galara.

The Drone Battle…

Avalon dropped out of hyperspace in front of the drones, effectively blocking their path. The message was clear. 'No Further' it said. The doors opened and sixty squadrons of Alteran starfighters emerged from the hanger. This was overkill as the total number of berserker drones before the battle had started was near four hundred. The number now was slightly above three hundred.

The battle was over very quickly now, with the starfighters quickly destroying the drones, but the damage had been done. The forty ships that had been sent to stop the drones were all still operational, but barely. Avalon simply transported the ships into its hanger, secured them, and jumped back to Earth.

That evening, in Camelot, Merlin met with Jackson and his staff, as well as the defense ministry for the alliance. Jackson had a new member on his staff filling O'Neill's former position, head of Earth security. However, he was no newcomer to the requirements of the position. Teal'c had been by O'Neill's side throughout his tenure in the position, and when O'Neill had moved to the defense ministry, it had been only natural for Teal'c to move into his friend's former position. It was unusual to have the head of Earth Security to be an alien, but no one in Earth's government had any question as to his loyalty or ability.

"We got our asses kicked!" O'Neill said without preliminary once everyone was present.

"Indeed, O'Neill," Teal'c said, "it seems as though the Ori were using the berserker drones to lure our fleet away from their patrols."

Jackson was staring at the city through Merlin's window. He was hearing his friends voices, but not really taking in what they were saying. The number dead on Earth was beyond imagination. Finally, his eyes met Merlin's. O'Neill, Bra'tac, Thor, and Teal'c were still raging about the beating Earth had taken, but when Jackson spoke, everyone stopped talking. "You and I could have stopped it, Merlin." Jackson's voice somehow carried over everyone else's, even though he didn't raise it in the slightest.

Merlin spoke very quietly. "Yes, Daniel. We could have."

"Why didn't we?" Daniel's eyes were tearing as he thought of all the people dead.

Merlin shuddered as he took a deep breath. He had known this was coming. Daniel's mood had been palpable as he entered the room.

"We could have saved them!" Daniel shouted before Merlin could speak. "Yes! I know about the universe blowing up if we change things! But right now I couldn't care less about that! Seven million dead, Merlin. While we sat on our asses!" He stood and started to turn away, but stopped and looked Merlin in the eye. "How do we explain that to the families of those who died?"

Bra'tac looked shocked. "How could we have stopped things, Doctor Jackson?"

Daniel was close to sobbing as he spoke to the Jaffa Master. "Not you, Master Bra'tac. Merlin! And me!"

Merlin was staring at the surface of his desk. O'Neill was furious as he said dangerously, "What do you mean, Daniel?"

Merlin looked up, and at the sight of his eyes, O'Neill's fury dissipated completely. Something in them told everyone in the room that Merlin would remember and rage over each one of the seven million Terrans killed today for the rest of his immeasurably long life.

"We cannot change things, Jack," Merlin said to O'Neill. "Daniel is quite right that we could have stopped what was happening. We have the power, but to do so would cause unimaginable problems." He stood and started to pace. "There is no predicting what would happen if we were to interfere."

O'Neill wasn't one to stand on ceremony, and even though Merlin was his grandfather-in-law, he wasn't about to let this go. "The First said that the Q would no longer stand by idly. So how come you did today?"

Jackson saw the deep sorrow on Merlin's face, and he knew that the old Q was just as bothered by this day's events as he was. For a few moments, he thought of letting the wizard dig his own way out, but then thought better of it. As much as he knew Merlin's reasoning, he also knew that O'Neill would never accept it. Unless he brought home the significance of what they must do.

"Jack," he said in a tone that stopped O'Neill's tirade, at least temporarily. "Do you remember P3W-451?" At O'Neill's look, Jackson continued. "Stupid question. Of course you do. SG-1 always held to the motto 'no one left behind.' So why didn't we when it came to SG-10?"

O'Neill looked at Jackson as if he were crazy. "If we had tried to rescue them, we would have been sucked into the black hole too, Daniel."

"Exactly Jack. Rescuing them was impossible."

Carter was sitting with his head down as he nodded, obviously agreeing with Jackson. O'Neill caught the nod and glared at his brother-in-law. "You agree, Jack?"

Carter raised his head to look at O'Neill. "I don't understand it enough to agree or disagree, Jack," he said, "but I do know what Merlin has said several times. We've all heard it, over and over. 'Things have to happen in a certain way, or the results will be catastrophic.'"

"That's kind of abstract, Jack," O'Neill said angrily.

"True," Jackson said, "but those people would never have existed if we had changed the way they died."

"Better to have lived and died, than to never have lived at all," Merlin said softly.

"What?" O'Neill said, startled.

"We are not dealing with a linear timeline," Thor said. "Is that what you're saying, Merlin?"

"Exactly," Merlin confirmed. "Any choices we make right now change the circumstances leading up to the making of the choice."

"What?" It was Carter this time, although the look on O'Neill's face said clearly that if Carter hadn't asked, he would have. "Is it just me, or does that make no sense whatsoever?"

"No," O'Neill said, "it makes absolutely no sense."

"Perhaps I can explain," Merlin said, then turned to O'Neill. "The circumstances leading to Jade's birth are an example. Her existence is made possible by three realities. Without those three realities, Jade would never have been born." O'Neill looked confused, but Merlin continued. "Let me start from the beginning. In the first reality, Dr. Jackson discovered the existence of a ZPM in ancient Egypt, which led to SG-1 going back in time to recover it. They were stranded there, creating a second reality where the stargate was removed from Earth by Ra. A version of Samantha, who was not related to the military at all, travelled back in time with you and Teal'c where you joined with the original version of Daniel Jackson, causing the rebellion that forced Ra to leave Earth and abandon the stargate. This created the third reality: the one that we are currently in.

"I could easily prevent this from happening. If I were to have placed some Zero Point Modules in the Antarctic outpost for you to find, things would have been much easier for Stargate Command. I could even, as we speak, travel back in time and place them where, when the DHD for the second stargate was excavated, they would be found. This would make things much simpler for you, but there would have been no need for SG-1 to travel into the past. Therefore, Jade would never be born."

O'Neill slowly nodded, finally understanding the situation Merlin was in, and how delicate the balance between interference and non-interference was for him.

Bra'tac was contemplating the situation, and saw a further consequence. "Was not SG-1 the catalyst which caused the Terran rebellion against Ra? If you had not gone into the past, the Goa'uld would still be in power."

Teal'c nodded his agreement. "That is the most likely outcome. The System Lords would never have fallen, and Ra would still be here, on Earth." He faced Merlin. "I understand what you are saying, Merlin. The balance between acting and not acting is a delicate one." He paused for a moment. "I fail to see what benefit the death of seven million people can bring, but since I see things in a linear manner, I will trust that you are correct in your assessment."

"Thank you, Teal'c. I understand your reluctance to see the benefit of today, but I can only say again, that if they had not died today, they would never have existed in the first place."

In the Pegasus Galaxy…

Brigadier General John Sheppard stepped out of his quarters, angrily balling up the sheet of paper he had printed his orders on. He was heading to the bridge of his flagship, the Enterprise, so named in the tradition of the US Navy. Enterprise was a Valhalla class carrier. It had a group of two Astraeus class battleships, three 304s, six Auroras, and ten air groups of starfighters. As well, under his direct command were three O'Neills, seven ha'taks, and in a strange twist, five Hives and ten Wraith Cruisers. Sheppard was the commander of the entire Iconian fleet in Pegasus, and there were seven more carrier groups under his command, each spaced strategically throughout the galaxy.

The orders that had him so angry had just been received from the Ministry of Defense in the Milky Way. That galaxy was usually referred to as Avalon, but in his mind it would always be the Milky Way. It wasn't the orders per se that he was so mad about. It was the fact that Earth had been caught so defenseless. He understood the reason for sending the fleet to deal with the drones, and in retrospect, he could see how it had been duped. But had he been in charge, he would have done exactly the same thing. Now, his forces were being recalled, and they would be leaving Todd to defend all the humans in the Pegasus galaxy. He had no misgivings about Todd doing the job. They had worked side by side so much in the last ten years that the Wraith was basically his second in command over all the fleet.

Sheppard entered the bridge and told the colonel in command of the ship to contact Todd. As soon as Todd came on one of the smaller bridge screens, Sheppard filled him in on the problem.

"I am sorry for what has happened to your world, Sheppard," Todd told him. "I understand your need to return to Earth. There is no need to order me to protect this galaxy. I will do so willingly. We have worked together for so long now, that I consider you to be a friend. I will not break the treaty."

Sheppard nodded, grateful to hear Todd say the words. Strangely, he now considered the Wraith to be a friend as well. What had started out as a treaty of convenience had changed to something more in the intervening years. Sheppard knew that the wraith would keep the treaty, even without Iconian forces present, and to hear him say so, sealed the deal. "Thank you, Todd. We will be heading out of the galaxy in two hours."

Todd acknowledged, and they signed off. The two hours Sheppard specified were used to transfer personnel to their rightful ships, and to contact humans in the Pegasus galaxy. They had to be told what was happening. At the end of the time, the Iconian ships leaped to hyperspace and were gone, leaving the Pegasus galaxy to the Wraith once again. But this time, the Wraith were the protectors of Pegasus.

Partway to Earth, Enterprise received another message. They were to head to a spot near the planet called Origin, where a supergate had been reported seen. Sheppard diverted his carrier group to the coordinates, and they raised shields as they left hyperspace.

The sight that awaited them was enough to cheer every member of the Enterprise carrier group. Avalon was sitting several miles away from the supergate, with close to a dozen Ori attack vessels surrounding it. The Ori ships, big as they were, looked like gnats flitting about the mammoth Alteran ship. The Ori ships were firing continuously as Avalon made a leisurely turn. It almost appeared as though the massive ship was toying with the smaller vessels.

Sheppard, however, made good use of the diversion Avalon afforded him. He ordered his fleet to launch all airwings, and the larger vessels were placed in between the station and the supergate. So far, it appeared as though Avalon hadn't fired a shot, nor had it launched any of it's innumerable starfighters. Sheppard watched as the Ori fired point blank on the station. The shields would flare, but it appeared as though the Alteran ship was doing nothing.

Suddenly, something happened, and for several moments afterward, Sheppard thought he must have blinked and missed it. All twelve of the Ori ships erupted in such quick succession it was almost beyond belief. Then, from the other side of Enterprise came one of the brightest flashes the general had ever seen. He looked back to the screen showing Avalon in time to see the huge ship growing as it drew closer. It had tractor beams on, pulling the wreckage of the Ori vessels along with it, then a golden glow shimmered around the ship as it beamed the wreckage into it's hold.

"Message coming in from Avalon," the communications officer on Enterprise announced.

"On screen," Sheppard said.

The Commander's face quickly filled the screen, replacing the image of the huge ship growing ever larger. "Hello, General," he said, smiling. "Welcome to the former sight of the Ori supergate."

"Thank you, Commander," Sheppard said. "Why'd you take so long to destroy the Ori ships?"

"I was trying to warn them off. If I didn't have to destroy them, I didn't want to. They didn't listen."

Sheppard was surprised that this man would try to spare the Ori, but then, with a ship as powerful as Avalon, one could afford to be magnanimous.

In another part of the Avalon Galaxy…

The Doci received a report from his long range scanners. As he had planned, news of the supergate had leaked out. He wasn't certain of the channels the news travelled to the Iconians through, but it was sufficient that it reached them. They had immediately set out to destroy the gate, and they had succeeded. He was sorry that they had lost the gate, but another one was being constructed in a different location, one that he had determined to be a secret.

"The Iconians have destroyed the supergate, but they will not suspect the existence of another, even larger gate. They are to be led like sheep," the Doci thought.

He decided that he needed to gloat to someone. He stood and left the bridge for his quarters. In a dark room, off one side of his quarters, was a cage. He stood looking into the shadows of the room, smelling the unwashed, sweaty odor of the occupant. The person stood at the back of the cage, arms folded over his chest, defiant. "Just like his father," the Doci thought. "He doesn't have the intelligence to be afraid." But no, that wasn't right. It wasn't a lack of intelligence, but an overconfidence in his father's abilities to rescue him that gave him the bravado.

"Your father and his associates destroyed my supergate," he told the man.

"Good," came the reply from the shadows.

"But they were only able to because I allowed it," the Doci boasted. "I allowed them to have the location of that gate, because I wanted them to believe that they had destroyed my only means of reinforcing my fleet."

"And you think that having another supergate will give you enough of an edge to win?" his prisoner asked. "You obviously don't know who you're dealing with."

"Oh, but I do. I know that your father will stop at nothing to get you back, and when he comes, I shall be ready for him. I will destroy him completely, but not before I see the look on his face when he realizes what I have done to him."

With that, the Doci whirled and left the room, locking the door behind him. The prisoner heard the hiss as the door sealed, placing the room on it's own ventilation and climate control systems. He was determined not to give the Doci the satisfaction of knowing that he was scared, and so far, he was pretty sure he hadn't.

The Doci stalked to the bridge. On the way there, he backhanded an incompetent maintenance worker who was hooking up an intercom incorrectly, causing feedback. The man flew across the corridor, and hit the wall, hard, then fell to the floor, unmoving. The Doci continued on without a backward glance. The talk to his prisoner had not given any satisfaction. Instead, it had irritated him.

When he arrived at the bridge however, his mood brightened. In front of his ship, the final piece of the new supergate was placed, and the gate was brought to life. He watched, feeling power course through his body, as close to two hundred ships came through, and without even pausing, they entered hyperspace, heading for Vis Uban.


	20. Chapter 20

In orbit of Heliopolis...

In Avalon's Ops center, the Commander was working with the leaders of the Iconian races as well as the defense ministry which was made up of O'Neill, Thor and Bra'tac. The Commander, while still subject to them, was in charge of the entire Iconian fleet. They were trying to discern a location in the Avalon Galaxy where the Ori could conceal a supergate under construction. They had narrowed the list of possible locations to... several. In order to search them, they dispatched twelve 304s and seventeen biliskiners.

"We need to do something about the berserker drones as well," Teal'c commented at one point.

"I agree," O'Neill said. "That was just too much of a coincidence that the attack on Earth came just as the fleet was out fighting them."

"I agree with O'Neill," Thor said. "I suspect that the Ori and berserker drones have formed some sort of an alliance."

"And the Ori probably took our ha'tak," Bra'tac concluded.

"I suspect that is the truth, Master Bra'tac," Merlin said gravely.

"Which is why I feel that we must send some ships to contend with the drones."

"You're absolutely right, Teal'c," the Commander nodded. "I would think some 305's and O'Neills would be the best, don't you think, General O'Neill?"

"Yeah," O'Neill said. "I'm good with that, you?" he asked Thor and Bra'tac.

"That is agreeable to me," Bra'tac replied.

"Agreed, O'Neill," Thor said.

The Commander turned to his communications officer and had him dispatch the required ships.

From across the room, there was a flash, and en masse, the group turned to face the area. A man had appeared there, and he looked stricken.

"Janus?" Merlin asked.

"Hello, Father. I have just come from Vis Uban." He stepped toward the group, and stumbled. Jack Carter rushed to help him remain standing. "Thank you, Jack," Janus said.

"What's wrong?" Carter asked him.

As Janus started to collapse, a chair flashed into being and caught him. "Thank you," he acknowledged.

"Don't mention it," Carter said. Janus gave him a strange look but didn't say anything more. Instead, he looked at his father. "Watch the viewscreen, Father," he said.

The group turned to the floor to ceiling viewer as it came to life. The screen showed a planet, presumably Vis Uban, with a carrier group in Orbit.

"That's Atropos," the Commander said. "General Young is in command, if I remember right." He looked at Janus, who only nodded, dumbly.

Near the carrier, a hyperspace window opened, and wave after wave of the giant Ori ships started pouring out.

The commander ordered, "Prepare for hyperspace!" but Janus shook his head.

"These events are all past, Commander, and the presence of Avalon at Vis Uban would not have changed a thing."

Everyone continued watching in horror as more and more Ori ships emerged from hyperspace. They completely ignored the carrier group and started bombarding the planet below. The starfighters launched and started strafing the ships, but to no avail. "Those ships are of the Dominantur class," Janus explained. "They are fully three times the size and strength of the Attack class that we used to see." Suddenly, on one side of the screen, one of the Ori ships sprouted an explosion and started falling out of orbit. En masse, the huge ships started pounding the starfighters. A couple more of the Ori ships fell to the small craft, but before long the fighters were gone. And the Ori went back to bombarding the surface.

The Commander noticed that one of the ships was holding back, as if it were coordinating the attack. "He's there, on that ship," he said, almost too quiet for anyone to hear.

"You're right, Sir," Janus agreed. "He has made himself the Doci, the most loyal of the Priors. He is leading this attack on the Avalon galaxy."

A movement elsewhere on the screen made them divert their attention towards the planet's surface. A magnificent city ship was raising into the atmosphere, it's screens flaring with every hit they took. They were starting to flare red, and seemed in imminent danger of collapsing altogether, when Atropos placed herself directly above the city, taking the punishment from the Ori weaponry on her own, up till now, untouched shields. Both ships continued to rise through the atmosphere, picking up speed. Atropos shields were growing deeper and deeper red as they continued to lift, finally collapsing completely as the city reached altitude and made the jump to hyperspace. The next moment, the carrier took a shot directly through it's reactor and exploded spectacularly.

There was a gasp in the room as the wreck of Atropos tilted, then started falling towards the surface. Very quietly, Janus spoke. "General Young ordered all but the bare minimum crew to the planet's surface before he took his ship in to protect the city. The crew that was transported to the surface took shelter in a cave, and were well when the battle ended." He paused for a moment before saying, "General Young and the rest of the people aboard Atropos did not survive."

The group was glad to hear that the remains of Atropos crew were safe, but the battle on the screen was continuing. The Iconinan ships had placed themselves in between the Ori and the cities on the planet's surface, firing continuously. The Ori hardly paused. They shifted their barrage from the surface to the ships. It took very little time before the Iconian ships were reduced to flaming wreckage. The Ori then returned to the task of leaving the cities below to the same fate.

After a few more minutes, the Ori vessels regrouped around the Doci's ship. Then, as one, they leaped to hyperspace.

The screen continued showing the scene of Vis Uban, floating in space much the same way as before, except for the red spots of huge fires on the night side of the terminator slowly moving eastward on the planet's surface.

It took several seconds for the Commander to announce, "Screen off," in a trembling voice, and even longer for the communications officer to comply. The lights automatically came up slightly as the screen went off.

Merlin turned to his son and asked, "Where were they going when they left Vis Uban?"

Janus had still been staring at the screen, and he visibly shook himself out of his shock when he heard his father's voice. "I'm sorry, Sir. I didn't stay around to find out. I knew you needed to know that thirty-five million people had been killed as soon as possible."

Merlin nodded his acknowledgement. He understood Janus' not sticking around to get any more information.

"They're heading to Earth," Jack Carter announced.

"Vis Uban is quite close to Earth, Jack Carter. That would be a good supposition," Teal'c said.

Carter looked surprised at Teal'c. "It's not a supposition, Teal'c," he said, "It's the truth."

"Now, Jack," O'Neill chided, "I know they just…" O'Neill stopped. He was looking at Merlin, who shook his head at him. The Commander looked grim, and Janus was completely white.

"He's right, Jack," Jackson said. "They're really headed towards Earth."

O'Neill's voice was barely above a whisper as he agreed. "I know, Daniel. I don't know how I know, but I do. We've got to get there to warn people."

"Yes," the Commander said. He turned to his chair, pressed a couple of buttons, and the room reconfigured. As well, sirens started blaring as he told his helmsman, "Take the ship to Earth, now."

Suddenly, there was a flash of light as the group was no longer standing on the bridge of Avalon, but in the gateroom of Atlantis. Jackson took a look at where he was, then he sprinted upstairs to speak to Mr. Woolsey. When he finished giving instructions, Daniel flashed out of existence beside Woolsey and into the council chambers. The rest of the group was conferring below when the shields flared and the city shook. They were being attacked from orbit.

Elsewhere in Atlantis...

Samantha O'Neill was in her quarters in Atlantis when the city shook. It had stabilizers to keep it steady on the ocean, but the weapons from the sky glanced off the shields and boiled the ocean to one side of it. This caused the city to rock to that side as the ocean flashed to steam underneath. Immediately, Sam realized what was happening. She wondered where her husband and brother were, but she knew from her link to Jack Carter that they were both alright. Then her thoughts turned to her friends, and she thought of Janet and Cassandra at their homes in Colorado Springs. Atlantis was a city ship, and therefore, had extremely strong shields surrounding the entire city, but Colorado Springs had no such protection.

In the past, while Janet was medical officer of the SGC, she had a GD built personal shield, and this had saved her life many times, both offworld and on, but now that she was retired from the air force, she no longer had such a thing, and Cassandra never had one.

Sam looked around, and saw the city of Colorado Springs surrounding her. At first she thought she was just seeing things. Perhaps she had taken a hit from something falling in her quarters. She had, after all, seen a flash right before noticing she was no longer in Atlantis. However, if she was dreaming, she assumed that she should be seeing Colorado Springs as it had been when she had last been there. Not with buildings exploding from Ori weapons fire. People were running all around her, and the noise was terrific. Yelling, explosions. She had been in enough firefights to know the panic that always accompanied the destruction. She took her bearings, and started running for the area of town she knew Janet lived in. She guessed that she had about two miles to run as she had appeared in the central section of town, where the buildings were taller.

As she ran, she came near a parking garage which was crumbling. It had taken a glancing blow from a Ori shot, and there was a crater in the middle of the street adjacent to it. The structure was actually shaking as she approached. The entire side collapsed as she came near, and the resulting dust cloud was impenetrable. She slowed down until she could see but then stopped completely as she realized she was, quite literally, standing on nothing in the middle of the crater. She was still level with the street, but the collapsing garage had not filled in the crater completely. She hesitatingly looked to her feet and saw that there was a drop of about fifteen feet below her. Cautiously, she looked all around and saw the same thing. She started to tremble as she placed her right foot carefully in front of her and felt for solidity. She couldn't feel anything below her feet, but her foot would not sink, regardless. She put more weight on her right foot. So far, so good. More. There was something holding her up, but she couldn't tell what it was. Very gingerly, she placed her left foot in front of the right. It held. Right foot next… It held… She began to pick up speed now, and soon, was running across the top of the crater, heading for where she knew Janet and Cassandra to be.

This had to be a dream… That was the only explanation. She must be unconscious. This was like something Merlin could do…. Then she realized that maybe she was awake. Maybe this had something to do with Merlin. She was his granddaughter, after all. Maybe she had inherited some of his power. Perhaps that's how she could talk to her brother through their thoughts.

She was deep in contemplation and almost missed it. Running down the other side of the street she saw Cassandra. Then, Janet! They were running in the opposite direction from her. She started to cross the street, then realized that the building directly above them was collapsing. As if in a dream, she saw the rubble completely bury both of them. First Cassie, then Janet, was under a pile of dust, metal, and concrete. Without regard for her own safety, she ran into the falling debris, then she was on the other side. Janet was standing in front of her, with her arms around Cassie. Sam looked around and saw the debris pile behind her. She had been certain that both of them had been engulfed. Strangely, she didn't even see the path she had taken through the rubble either, and she was certain she hadn't climbed over anything. She looked back at the other two, and realized that there wasn't even any dust adhering to them. A look at her own clothes made her realize she was the same. Not a speck of dust on any of her clothing. What was going on here?

"Janet?" she said. "I thought you were both gone. I was sure you were buried in that," she said pointing behind her shoulder.

"Sam! What are you doing here?" Janet was shocked to see her friend.

"Looking for you two! Where's Dr. Rockwell," Sam asked. She knew that Janet and the scientist had been becoming an item for quite some time.

"He was heading to the transportation center to go to Atlantis. He had a meeting with Eric Marten," Janet informed her.

She was about to say more when suddenly, a bolt of light from the sky hit not more than ten feet from the three, blowing a huge section of building apart. Pieces of cinder block flew in all directions, yet none affected the three women. Sam was almost certain she saw a piece spin through Cassie, but when the girl failed to fall, or even appear touched by it, she felt she must have imagined it.

"We'd better get out of here," she said, and the three started out of the city. Suddenly, however, there was a flash, and all three were standing in Sam's apartment in Atlantis. The clock on the wall showed that absolutely no time had passed from Sam leaving the room to now. The city was shaking and shuddering, but it was shielded. It should be safe.

In the Atlantis Control Room…

Merlin had just flashed into Atlantis with the Commander and the others. He watched as Jackson conferred with Woolsey and then disappeared.

"Commander," he said. "Perhaps we should help with coordinating rescue efforts around the globe."

"I agree, Merlin." They were part way up the stairs to speak to Woolsey when they heard someone yell, communications have gone down all around Earth.

The Commander turned to Merlin. "You stay here, the rest of us can flash to major cities. They can't take down our communication."

"Agreed, Commander," Merlin said, "but there aren't enough Q here to get to every major city on Earth."

"Some of us will have to handle communications in several cities," the First said. They were completely up the stairs now, and Merlin whirled to where the voice had come from. The First and Eric Marten were standing behind him..

The city rocked again, almost knocking several people off their feet. Merlin waved his hand, almost dismissively, and all motion stopped. Richard Woolsey was looking at the First, but was completely unmoving. Below, people were in various positions, some appearing to run. One person was even in the process of falling, with no part of his body even touching the floor, but each person was eerily motionless. Trent Rockwell was there, motionless while running towards the falling person.

"First, will you contact the rest of the Q and see if we can handle most cities on Earth? Those who flash into city ships must be prepared to help protect stationary cities," The Commander said quickly.

"Affirmative, Commander," the First acknowledged. He paused for just a moment, then said, "They have been notified and are on their way. I shall go to New York City."

"I'll go to Tokyo. Daniel can coordinate here with Mr. Woolsey," Merlin said. There was no question as to where other Q were heading. That was simply known by all Q present. He turned to his grandson, "Jack, can you get to Los Angeles on your own yet?"

Jack was surprised. He wasn't a Q… He was about to protest when he remembered all the things he was able to do. Talk to his sister, even over long distances, the chair he had somehow conjured for Janus. There were other strange things he had noticed, but thought little about. Perhaps he was a Q, and didn't realize it?

"I'm not sure, Grandpa. I might need some help."

"I'll get you there, Jack," Janus said, grinning. He looked at the First and said, "Then I'll head to Mexico City." he waved his hands and he and Jack disappeared.

Eric Marten stepped forward. "I shall travel to London, First."

"Thank you, Doctor Marten. Are there any more?" the First asked as Marten walked away, fading from view as he did..

"Where's Sam?" O'Neill asked as they heard a commotion below. Someone was running. "Ok. There she is," He finished as he saw his wife, and Janet Fraser running towards the control room.

Samantha arrived at the top of the stairs, breathless. "Colorado Springs is being demolished," she gasped out.

"As is the rest of Earth," the First said. "Will one of you go to Colorado Springs to help with communication?"

"Yes, First," Janet said. "I received your message, and I'll go." She faced Merlin. "I remember."

Merlin merely nodded and smiled, Then Janet disappeared in a flash of light.

"Samantha, will you go to Paris?"

Sam turned to the First, stunned. "Yes, but…" She thought of what had happened to her at the crater. "I don't know how to travel the way you do, though."

"I will get you and Jack there," Merlin said and Atlantis disappeared from around them.

Paris…

O'Neill and Sam flashed into the control room of Paris. The city had been rebuilt after the Aschen attack, and as with all of the Terran cities rebuilt into city ships, famous landmarks from the city had been incorporated into the city ship. Paris still had the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. The Louvre building was almost a complete loss, but the artwork had been preserved as much as possible. The Mona Lisa smile still graced museum visitors, as it had for many years before.

For the Eiffel Tower, much of the original structure had been brought to the city ship, but the metal had been molecularly converted to trinium at the Altair shipyards by construction mites. As a result, the Tower was much stronger and lighter than it had been before the rebuilding of Paris.

The control room for Paris was in the basement of the central building. The city had an ingenious setup which allowed the Seine to wind it's way through a canal and the port facilities. A few miles from the city site, the river had been diverted into a concrete channel, which perfectly matched the channels in and out of the canals built into the ship. While in it's place the city sat in a concrete bowl which extended for a hundred feet in every direction past the outer perimeter. The whole pad contained small pores which connected to an immense underground storage tank. This had been built to hold enough water to fill the depression. As the city sat down, the water was displaced into the higher pores, and from there through a series of one way valves into the tank. When the city lifted off, the water flowed back through the lower pores, and into the depression, turning it into a large manmade lake. The rate of flow through the pores was such that as the city set down, the water would settle to its proper place within three minutes.

In the control room, O'Neill and Sam looked around. They saw the prime minister of France standing looking at some screens. He too was motionless, but they both knew he would begin moving as soon as Merlin released the Q from the time dilation field they were in. They took the opportunity to look around and take in what the screens said.

"Sam," O'Neill said after they had looked around. "I can understand that you're Q. Your grandfather is one, and obviously, it seems to run in the family. Also, I know that the First put only Q into the time dilation field, Right?" His wife nodded acknowledgement. "So why am I here?" he finished lamely.

"Obviously you're Q too," she answered.

"Why?"

People started to move around them, and she shook her head. "Can we talk about this later, Jack?"

"Sure," he said. The prime minister was staring at them. Jack stepped forward. "Hello, Robert. How are you today?"

Robert DeSalle had been prime minister of France since the inception of the Iconian Alliance, and had even been to Jack's cabin in Minnesota for fishing as they discussed the defenses that would go into the city ship they now stood in. He looked blankly at O'Neill for a moment, then gave a wan smile. "Jack, What are you doing here?" As he spoke, the city rumbled and shook.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out, Robert!" O'Neill said. "We're here to keep you in touch with the rest of the world as the standard lines of communication are down." He was keeping one eye on his wife as he and the prime minister spoke, and it was apparent that she had heard something that she needed to say.

O'Neill nodded at Sam and she spoke up. "Sir," she told DeSalle, "Brussels is taking quite a bit of fire."

DeSalle acknowledged her and told his navigator, "Place us between Brussels and the Ori. I want it done ten minutes ago!"

Paris' Mayor looked shocked at DeSalle, then at O'Neill. There seemed little to say. He agreed with the order, and as it relieved him of responsibility for an action which could very well get them all killed, he let things stand.

All four of them watched the screens as Paris lifted off and flew swiftly to the northeast. Long before they arrived, they could see bolt after bolt descending. Brussels was a city ship itself, and had every bit as good defenses as Paris, but they would fail very soon if they didn't take some of the pressure off of them. Paris came in low, so it could cover as much of central Brussels as possible.

New York City…

New York City was composed of five city ships, each corresponding to one of the five borroughs of the larger city. Thus, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens, and the Bronx had been built during the first part of the ten years that the Iconian Alliance had been in existence. Now, Newark, New Jersey was being added to the metropolis, but it wasn't complete yet. The first of the five to be built was Manhattan, which was also the first Earth city ship built using a Terran design. It was designed to fit into the midtown area, and each side of the ship reached all the way to the water. It was truly a massive vessel. The central building of the city was a 1000 meter tall spire which had been designed to look like the Empire State Building. The original building had been 381 meters tall. While the city was being built, students from the local engineering college set up a holographic gorilla to be projected onto the outside of the top floors of the building. It caused quite a stir when people came to the worksite in the morning and found King Kong holding Fay Wray above the streets of the new New York.

The control room for Manhattan was in the base of the new Empire State Building. The First appeared at the doorway in a flash of light. The mayor was standing a few feet from where he appeared, and as the light faded from the First's arrival, he turned. The two had met previously, so the mayor recognized him. "Welcome, First," He said. "Can you tell us what's going on? We don't have communication with anyone. Apparently, the plasma bolts from the Ori are causing ionization in the atmosphere, and breaking down our communication with the rest of the world."

The First nodded his acknowledgement. "You are correct in your assessment, Mr. Mayor. We Q, however, are providing assistance by facilitating communication between the cities of the Earth and Atlantis."

The Mayor nodded and went back to his screens. They showed the city from the vantage point of the top of the tower, surrounded by red flares as the beams from the Ori enveloped the shields. The communications between the five ships was accomplished by line of sight signals from the top of each tower. When the ships were set into their proper alignment on the ground, lasers set into the top of the central tower of each, lined up with receivers on each of the others. Newark was not entirely complete internally, but it's armaments and shields were ready to be used, and it was connected to the communications network of New York.

The First was seated at an empty station in the control room, hands folded in front of his face, with his eyes closed. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and told the mayor, "I am receiving reports of cities without adequate defenses taking heavy fire up and down the coast."

The mayor contacted the other ships and they arranged to protect the larger unshielded population centers to the best of their ability.

Mexico City…

Janus had appeared in the control room of Mexico City, and immediately started communicating reports from other Q to the mayor. Mexico City was the largest city ship in the country of Mexico, and the only one in central Mexico. There was little the city could do to protect all the small towns in the area, but where fire was the worst, they would protect.

It was while moving from eastern Mexico, past it's own site on the ground, and to the west, that one of the scanners swept over Popocatepetl, the volcano approximately thirty five kilometers south of the city. The screen transfixed Janus. His jaw dropped, and he felt like screaming. Beams of energy were starting to pelt the mountain. Already there was glassing of the summit near the crater.

"Dr. Jackson," he directed his thought to Daniel, "I am afraid the Ori have another goal rather than just the destruction of our people." He projected what he was seeing to Daniel, who sent it out to the other Q.

Tokyo…

Merlin had appeared in the city ship of Tokyo and, like his son, had immediately started communicating for the city. The city ship had been protecting the outlying areas for several minutes as well as returning fire to the Ori ships in orbit when Janus' report came to Merlin. Immediately, he checked the sensors. The trail of destruction the enemy was making was leading Tokyo away from Mount Fuji.

"Kaito!" He called the Mayor. "Get us above Mount Fuji, as soon as you can."

"I cannot abandon the villages, Merlin."

"Kaito, my friend," Merlin said, "the Ori are targeting volcanoes. They will target Fuji very soon and then there will be no villages to abandon." Indeed, as Merlin spoke, the beams were starting to hit the mountain.

It took very little time for Tokyo to change direction and get between the beams and the volcano, but in that time, the Ori had dug to a point where pressure was released in a huge eruption.

Colorado Springs…

Colorado Springs had never been a mega city, but with the United States Air Force Academy in proximity, it was one that needed protection. Because of the existence of the Academy, as well as the SGC in Cheyenne Mountain, it was felt that the civilians in the city needed some help. The area would definitely be a target.

Janet had flashed into the control room and met up with the mayor. They began protecting cities as much as possible, then Janus' message came through about volcanoes. Janet explained to the mayor, whose face turned completely white. Nevertheless, she didn't question Janet's word. Instead, she ordered her city northward. They arrived at Yellowstone and joined three more city ships, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Boise. The four ships settled above the ancient caldera, but they were simply not large enough to do much deflecting. Seattle was busy trying to ward off shots above Mount Rainier in the Cascades and Portland was doing the same over Mount Hood. City ships were not plentiful, and the nearest one available to assist was Chicago and it would be several minutes before it arrived.

London…

Eric Marten and Holly materialized in London. They were standing outside a cafe in the main promenade of the city.

"You must stay here, Holly. I will return as soon as I can."

Holly nodded and entered the cafe. She took a seat at a table and thought of Doug. He was no longer the chief engineer of the Nathan Stark. Instead, he was working at Altair on a special assignment. She had worked with him on a few ideas, but he had refused to divulge the overall picture. He had spoke only to Merlin and Samantha Carter about it, and apparently they liked the idea. As a result, he, Henry, Rush, and Eli were not on Earth at the moment.

Eric Marten fondly watched his daughter take a seat in the cafe. She was very special to him, and he wanted to make sure she was safe. She wasn't Q, but he had given her the ability to communicate with him telepathically. This had the benefit of allowing him to monitor her safety constantly.

He flashed to the control center and started monitoring communications for the city. The mayor of London had spent time in the Royal Navy, and had little fear of taking his city into combat while defending the rest of the area. His strategy, however was to take the city high into the atmosphere so there was less need to move in blocking fire. From there, the vantage point allowed view of what was happening in the Atlantic Ocean.

"This is disturbing," Marten told Jackson. "The Ori are targeting the middle of the Atlantic."

"I don't understand," Jackson thought back. "Why would they be doing that? It doesn't make sense."

"Yes, it does," Sam thought. "They're targeting volcanoes. The Mid Atlantic Ridge is a fault between two plates, just like the San Andreas. If they punch enough holes there, they can cause much more volcanic damage."

Janus agreed. "By raising the water temperature, the poles will melt, the jet stream will change.. The damage to the planet will be catastrophic."

City ships were coming from all over to assist over the ocean. They were also positioned over the ring of fire, but there simply weren't enough to effectively protect every place necessary. The Ori outnumbered Earth's defenses and too many shots were getting through.

In the cafe, Holly Marten was monitoring what the Q were saying. She couldn't argue with Sam and Janus. She saw several ways to defend against the Ori, but there simply wasn't time. There was one idea that she had that could possibly work if they could implement it. She stood, as she realized it would work, but at that moment, the ridge below released pressure all at once.

Yellowstone…

In Wyoming, the caldera blew. The four cities had been gaining altitude, as they realized what the outcome of the Ori firepower would be. As the caldera exploded, a chunk of rock, about the size of a typical elementary school building impacted on the bottom of Boise. It damaged the engines and the city started to drop. Directly below, however was hell. Rocks, ash, and lava were spewing out in a torrential flood. The geyser fields had been destroyed early on, and the ground which had been the national park, Yellowstone, was now spread across Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. The wind was blowing to the west, which would help protect Nebraska and the Dakotas, but the amount of ash accumulating in the upper atmosphere was greater than any volcanic action ever recorded.

Just before Boise was engulfed in the pyroclastic cloud below, it's shields dropped. The circuitry had shorted out completely. The city dropped into the growing cloud, and the heat started melting alloys and plastics. Seals blew, and superheated ash got into the buildings. The ventilation system picked it up, and before the ash could destroy blower bearings, it was spread throughout the habitable areas of the city. Within moments, people were dead or dying as they breathed the gases and dust into their lungs. The Nox virus had strengthened them, but they still needed to breath. Moments after the last person fell to the power of the volcano, the entire superstructure liquified. Anything not susceptible to melting, carbonized and blew away, while every metal piece of the city joined with the lava flows building up on the landscape.

Boise was simply a memory now. There was nothing left much bigger than a small pebble.

Now, however, the Ori started the next phase. One of the ships dropped low into the atmosphere. as close to the Mid Atlantic Ridge as it could get. It started a huge electromagnetic field generator which somehow combined with the release of magma and began a slow, inexorable magnetic pole reversal of Earth.


	21. Chapter 21

After the collapse of so many cities, and Earth being attacked so devastatingly, the last of the surviving population was in a panic. Reports were coming in from across the galaxy of planets falling to the Ori. Automated systems would report an Ori ship entering orbit of a planet and record its attack, only to be destroyed after the planet was sterilized. The Doci was brutally effective in psychological warfare. He intentionally allowed the automatic Asgard systems to record and report the destruction of different societies only to destroy those same systems later.

The war was not going well for the Iconians, yet the final blows were soon to come. The sensor net managed to pick up a fleet of wraith hives entering the Avalon Galaxy. They brought some horrifying news. Pegasus had fallen to the Ori. Of the estimated one point two trillion people in Pegasus, only two million people were still alive in culling storage units.

The wraith had been reduced to only those loyal to Todd, but now he only had twelve normal hives left as well as one superhive, thirty cruisers and spread throughout his entire fleet, one hundred twelve darts. He had managed to cull the humans to transport them all to the Avalon galaxy. Before leaving Pegasus, he had managed to rescue seven Traveler ships.

It seemed that the Ori had massed in other galaxies to destroy them, before returning to Avalon. One week after the fall of Pegasus, news arrived with the remnants of the Asgard fleet that the Ida galaxy had also fallen to the Ori. All that was left of the once proud Asgard fleet was thirty-five O'Neills, ten Biliskiners, and one city ship. No one had suspected that the Ori would attack the Ida galaxy as it was completely uninhabited aside from the Asgard. All other races had been wiped out by the Replicators centuries before.

The final blow to the Iconian alliance was the fall of Gaia, the Nox home world. Seventy Ori ships dropped out of hyperspace and began an orbital bombardment. The Nox had refused to install orbital defenses, and now they were paying dearly for it. The bombardment had the effect of glassing the surface of the planet. The trees were burned to ash.

Once the Ori started a complete destruction of Gaia, the Nox made a horrible decision for themselves. Long ago, they had fought a war that made this one seem like mere childs play. They won, but they lost as well. They had created a weapon that was so deadly that after using it to win, they had turned from war completely, unwilling to even consider fighting again.

Now, they aimed the weapon at the ship destroying their planet. They had kept this horrendous device, but it had not been maintained in uncounted millennia. When fired, it worked. The weapon cancelled all molecular motion in it's target, and the Ori ship glowed briefly and then it's molecules, unable to hold together, dispersed.

The Nox hoped that no Ori would be willing to stand up to such a weapon. That was not to be the case. Another one took over where the first one quit. The Nox fired again. Five of the Etre class ships, the largest and most formidable of the Ori vessels, were dispersed on the solar wind before the unmaintained Nox weapon burned out.

The Nox city ship managed to escape its doomed world, and entered hyperspace. Their city, also named Gaia, contained just over two hundred thousand people, the entire remnant of the Nox race, except for those who were living or working on Earth.

Heliopolis…

In the Camelot council chambers, the leaders of the Iconian Alliance were meeting in a televised ceremony, as Todd had decided to formally bring his Wraith empire into the alliance. Several Iconians had reservations regarding a Wraith membership, but the fact that Todd brought millions of humans back to Avalon by culling them was a point in his favor. By culling the humans, he stored them in buffers, and when he arrived at Earth, these buffers were turned over to the Iconian leaders. It was decided to refrain from releasing the people from them for the moment, however, as there was simply little room to house them.

The Asgard also brought their remnant to Earth as their galaxy had succumbed to the Ori. With the addition of the Nox refugees, Earth was being repopulated. However, projections made by the most gifted scientists in the alliance predicted that Earth would not be able to sustain life after seven years. Those were the optimistic estimates.

"Todd of the Wraith, would you please step forward?" Merlin asked.

The Wraith leader stepped to the stand facing Merlin. He bowed his head as he said, "Thank you for your consideration, Merlin."

Merlin nodded his acknowledgement. This decision was far from unanimous. In fact, it had barely passed, but the Wraith were needed, and that was something no one could deny. "The Iconian Alliance has decided to allow the Wraith a provisional membership." At Todd's expression, Merlin hurried on. "You must understand, Todd, that the Wraith have a history of bad relations with humans. Granted, the Wraith that are left have no need to feed off of humans now, and that has been taken into account."

Todd graciously said, "Thank you for the offer of provisional membership, but I would like to know what the provisions are before I accept."

Merlin again nodded. "I will tell you, Todd, that this is common practice for our alliance. If the council decides with a simple majority vote, we extend provisional membership. If the vote is unanimous, we have the option of extending full membership.

"Your provisional membership will extend all rights and privileges to your people, but you will not have voting rights on the council for one year."

Todd considered for a few moments, looking at the table in front of him. Then he looked up at Merlin. "I understand your laws regarding this, and my opinion is that they are wise. The Wraith accept the offer of provisional membership in the Iconian Alliance."

Todd stepped down and took his seat in the auditorium. He and Jardis were seated at the end of the first row, nearest the entrance into the chambers. He had noticed early in the evening that there were several empty seats between them and the rest of the audience. He heard the door open, and turned to look. Rodney and Jennifer McKay entered the room and scanned the crowd. Rodney's eyes rested on Todd and Jardis. He clearly saw the buffer zone that had been made, due to the fact that no one wanted to be seated next to a Wraith. Very deliberately, the McKays walked to the front of the room. Neither one hurried at all, but made sure that people saw what they were doing. They walked up to Todd and shook hands, then they sat down on the other side of Jardis. Their message was clear. They were extending the branch of friendship to the Wraith.

Merlin had stood at the lectern, saying nothing as he watched. He had seen the space between the Wraith and the others earlier in the evening, and had felt for Todd and Jardis. They had lost much, and even though their emotional makeup was different than a human's, there was still human DNA in them. Their feelings must come closer to a human's than it was generally thought because of the retrovirus they had taken.

Jack Carter took the podium. He looked tired and drawn. When he spoke, his voice shook. "Earth has suffered blows in this war like never before. The war has made heroes, and very often, takes them away quickly." He looked out at the faces in the crowd. He recognized them all. There were several hundred people in the auditorium, and even more people were watching the live broadcast. He took a deep breath and looked to Allison. She blew him a kiss and he went on. "I want to honor a hero tonight. Brigadier General Everett Young, in command of the Atropos battle group died giving his life for the people of Vis Uban, and the People of Novus. His sacrifice was not in vain, as the city ship, Novus, escaped with all of its population intact." Jack wiped his eyes. "General Young's heroism is representative of the heroism of many men and women who have given their lives so others in our alliance can live. We are truly one people now"

He stepped down, and Daniel Jackson took the stage. "Ladies and Gentlemen of Iconia, you all know of the heinous attacks on Vis Uban and on Earth. Vis Uban was almost totally destroyed. The planet was populated mostly by Terrans and the People of Novus. A very small percentage of the population escaped because of the heroism of General Young. It allowed the city ship of Novus to escape into hyperspace. However, this was only a small amount of their total population. The entire air wing of Atropos was lost, as was the ship itself. Thankfully, most of Atropos' crew transported to Novus before the city entered hyperspace. We have scanned the planet since the battle and there is no life left there. Vis Uban has been turned into a giant ball of glass. It will be unable to support life for eons.

"Earth came close to suffering this same fate. The Ori used an attack on our cities to distract us from what they were attempting. They used the geology of our home to destroy it. By setting off most of our volcanoes at once, they have set in motion the eventual destruction of Earth. Our scientists have predicted that it will not support life for more than seven years.

"The Q were instrumental in saving the lives of many Terrans. When the Ori weaponry took down our communications across Earth, they immediately sent a representative to each city to facilitate communications. This saved countless lives on Earth, and we thank the Q for their help. Because of communication, we knew where to place city ships to shield standard cities on the ground.

"Now, we are moving as many people as possible from the outlying towns and cities into city ships. These will remain on Earth with shields up for now. As many people as we can transport off world, will be relocated to other planets like Kolowna and Chulak."

Jackson finished his speech, and ended the meeting. Then, he hurriedly contacted the Commander to be transported aboard Avalon. The rest of the leaders followed suit.

Once they were on board, the leaders of Iconia met to discuss options privately. It was decided to use Avalon as their meeting place as it was virtually impenetrable to the Ori. One of the recreation decks had been reconfigured into a replica of the Camelot council chambers. The leaders were all present, and in addition, several scientists had been called on to have a say in this meeting.

From Earth, Henry Deacon, Douglas and Holly Fargo, Eli Wallace, Nicholas Rush, Helena Wells, Jennifer Haley, Zane Donovan, Eric Marten, Kevin Blake, Jeanne Miller, and Callister Raines were present, and were being asked to participate actively in the coming project.

From the Alterans, Montgomery Scott and Geordi La Forge were present as well as Janus. The Asgard had designated Hermiod to help, and the Nox had chosen Antaeus, husband of Lya.

The First of the Q and Nareem of the Tollan had both dedicated themselves to seeing the coming project to completion. The last person who joined the team was Jonas Quinn, of Kolowna.

Seated on the platform, with Merlin between them, were Samantha O'Neill and Rodney McKay. Merlin stood and addressed the group. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are about to embark on a project which will preserve our people, and what is about to be said in this forum must remain here if we are to avoid a full scale panic. Our aim here tonight is to brief those people who need to know. What we as Iconians are planning, if it comes to fruition, will be one of the greatest undertakings ever known. To explain, I am going to turn this meeting over to Dr. Samantha O'Neill and Dr. Rodney McKay."

Sam and Rodney stepped up to the lectern. "Good evening," Sam said, "we all know each other here, so we're not going to stand on much ceremony."

McKay nodded, and said, "Dr. O'Neill and I are going to explain the situation to you. Many of you will be wondering about a lot of our recent communications with you. You're probably wondering if we've flipped out, and maybe we have. The idea we have is a long shot." He paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "We believe that the war will be lost. Now I could try to explain our reasoning for this to you, but General Jack O'Neill, Bra'tac, and Thor could do a much better job of that than I can, and really, that's not what we're here for. If you want to know the reasoning, talk to one of them later."

Sam was nodding her agreement. "What we have in mind," she said, " is called the SARAH project. Now SARAH is the AI responsible for controlling my brother's house in Eureka. What we propose doing, is giving SARAH a new 'body'. Not a biological body, but a much larger, mechanical body.

"Since in our best predictions say that we will lose this war, we need to attempt to preserve our cultures and species. My brother, Jack Carter, said earlier this evening that we are truly one people now. To that end, we are going to build a home for all of us where we can keep our people alive. To describe the idea, I'm going to turn you over to Dr. McKay. This is his idea, and it's only fair that he introduce it to you."

McKay smiled at Sam as she went back to her seat "Thank you, Samantha. Actually, I would debate with you that it was solely my idea, but now isn't the time." He looked over the crowd, somewhat nervously. Some of the beings in this room were enormously powerful. He knew that many of them were Q or Ascended. However, be that as it may, they were here to hear his idea. It was daunting, even for one with an ego like his, but he had learned to share the limelight. That was the reason he was willing to give Sam credit as well. In truth, the initial idea was his, but he went to her with it immediately, and they developed it together from there.

"Project SARAH, in a nutshell, is to build an enormous habitat, surrounding a gas giant that we convert into a star. We can then build a planetary like surface on the inside of the habitat, complete with atmosphere and places to dock our cities. The actual completed size of the habitat will be on the order of a Terran AU. This will make the surface area of the living area enormous."

Dr. O'Neill and I have some questions for the scientists here, designed to get you all thinking. I know that you are committed to working on this, and right now you probably have decided that we are completely out of our minds. Well, that's fine. I understand that reaction, but I've learned that necessity is truly the mother of invention. We will make this idea work. I'm certain of that."

He looked at Douglas Fargo. "Dr. Fargo. First off, can SARAH be adapted for this purpose?"

Fargo thought for a long moment. "I initially built SARAH around another AI, called BRAD." There were audible groans in the auditorium as many of the people there had read about the BRAD project. "I know, I know," Fargo said, "BRAD had definite problems, that in fact surfaced after SARAH had been in use for several months. After that experience, I removed the aspects of BRAD that had caused the problems, without removing the intelligence behind them. This allowed SARAH to truly be her own self." He looked back at McKay. "In answer to your question, Dr. McKay, I believe that SARAH could be expanded. I will need access to the units she will control as they are developed, and as SARAH is an individual, she will need to agree to this as well."

"I'm here, Dr. Fargo, and I'm willing to be relocated into the habitat," Sarah's voice came over the loudspeakers of the auditorium.

"That's great, Sarah," Fargo said smiling. "I'm glad to hear that you've agreed.

"Of course. I have no desire to see the Iconian Alliance that I am part of die out."

Samantha stepped forward as McKay made room for her. "We plan on starting the habitat much smaller. Dr. McKay and I have devised a method of converting a gas giant into a star. We will move Jupiter from it's orbit and then build the framework for the habitat around it before igniting the planet. This will create a smaller star then Sol, obviously, however speaking with the First has led us to believe we can transport material inside which will allow the star to grow as we expand the size of the habitat."

The First was listening intently. "That sounds logical. In fact, it should be possible to collect the burnt material from the star and convert it to whatever alloys we need on a subatomic level. However, this will yield only a fraction of the amount of material necessary for even the beginning phase of the project."

Sam gazed at him for a few moments. When it became apparent that he wasn't going to offer any alternatives, she asked, "Do you have any idea as to how we might collect more material?"

"In theory, one could build a collector which could break down matter using a matter to energy converter. It could utilize some of the matter it collected to produce it's own fuel, and then transport the rest to the construction site using a gateway system."

"Thank you, First," Sam said. "That sounds like it will solve many problems we were struggling with."

The meeting lasted a surprisingly short time as the idea was to give the leadership an inkling of what was coming. The scientists met in several more sessions ironing out the details.

Dr. Donovan and Henry Deacon began working on the basic structure, aided by Scotty and LaForge. The designs were drawn for a cell system. Each cell would have a footprint large enough for an Atlantis class city ship, or approximately 4000 meters. Each cell would collect solar energy and use replicators to convert it into trinium which was the basic building block of the habitat.

The shell they were building would contain the basic systems necessary. Power, computers, and shields. Weaponry would be provided by the ships, cities, and defense satellites, at least in the beginning. Later, the shell would expand itself to it's full size. The cells built in orbit of the sphere would only have the parts to collect and store power. Every fifty cells built on site would be complete with the ability to build mites or have replicators. This was done to speed the construction. Later, the mite construction would be installed into other cells. Once the basic construction of the shell was completed, the mites would begin placing an outer shell of Carbon Neutronium on the entire structure.

One evening, Dr. McKay, Kevin Blake, and Scotty were discussing some of the problems of structural integrity. Kevin was figuring incredibly difficult mathematics in his head, while Scotty and McKay were marvelling about it.

"Several years ago, I went through the ascension machine on Atlantis. I wish I had been able to hold my development at that high level without fully ascending," Rodney commented.

"The Atlantis ascension machine?" Scotty said. "But that model has the ability to lock in without fully ascending someone. How come ye didna just tell it to?"

"I didn't see anything about that. What are you talking about?"

"Aye, Laddie," Scotty said. "Ye just have to flip the right switch. Avalon has the same model. Come with me, and I'll show you."

They left the lab, with Kevin still working on his math, and entered the medical bay. Scotty told the room, "Ascension Machine, mark 7B."

A machine, startlingly similar to a single transporter pad materialized in the room. Scotty walked to the control panel and manipulated a few controls. "There ye be, Lad. Now you go through that machine, and it will halt your development at ninety-eight percent." Scotty gestured towards the pad.

McKay looked doubtful. "Are you sure it wouldn't ascend me all the way? I mean no offense, but I think I'd be bored being ascended."

"Ach, Lad. Ye'd be surprised what ye can find to do with all your time. Aye, it's safe. I mean, I never woulda stepped into it after LaForge and me built it if I didna think it was safe."

"You built the ascension machine?" McKay was almost speechless.

"Aye, Lad. Merlin's wife, Che Ryl, was curious about a race that had ascended on their own, and was wondering how we could do it artificially. She asked us if we could help her. I looked at her specs and said sure. We worked for two days, round the clock to get it built. I could never say no to a beautiful lass." He sighed at the memory. After a moment, he looked back at McKay. "But if ye want the brain power, step on the pad. It'll just take a wee moment."

"So you invented the ascension machine, not just built it?"

"Well," Scotty hedged. "It was Che Ryl's idea. Me an Geordie? We just built it."

"I see," McKay said. "So who was the first person through it?"

"That was me!" Scotty said emphatically. "Ye dinna think I'd put someone else through something like that before I'd tested it myself, do you, Lad? After me, Geordie tried it."

McKay was standing on the platform now, and Scotty threw the switch. Rodney's body was bathed in swirling lights as it built up power and caused his DNA to mutate. Quickly the machine wound down and the lights shut off. Rodney was left standing on the platform, swaying slightly. After a moment, he opened his eyes and stepped off. "I don't feel any different," he said.

"What's the square root of two hundred sixty-eight thousand four hundred seventy-two point nine six one eight three, divided by seventy-one point eight nine two one six."

McKay started to answer but Scotty said, "Squared."

Immediately, McKay said, "Fifty-one point nine four four two five one one four six six eight three zero four." His eyes widened as the numbers simply flew out of his mouth.

Scotty stood arms folded, grinning.

On Earth…

While the scientists were working on the SARAH project, Earth was being evacuated. Anything people could find that was space worthy was being retrofitted with stasis chambers. Wraith culling beams were being used to store people until the habitat was completed. In some extreme cases, even shipping containers were being filled with people and placed within time dilation fields. In four weeks over two billion Terrans were in stasis along with another one point six billion refugees from other words. The Jaffa had placed over a billion in stasis as well. The remaining people were in cargo ships and city ships.


	22. Chapter 22

Year One of the Sphere...

The dyson sphere took a long time to design because the programming for the construction mites was incredibly sophisticated. Almost a year after the programming and design was started, construction began. In a strategically worthless area of the Avalon galaxy, near an asteroid field, sixty-four mites were placed on a cubic meter block of trinium. Their job was to replicate themselves to a certain point, and then use material that would be transported into the area. The asteroids would eventually be used, but at this point, they were to hide the construction. On a certain asteroid that was considered off limits by the mites, a base had been set up for the scientists and construction workers to be housed. The workers were to step for finalizing the construction if necessary.

These mites began with the framework, then they would go on to build cells. Every intact shipyard throughout Iconian space was working on building cells for the sphere. They would be built, then flown to the site by a city ship locked into them. The cells were all identical to each other at this point, so work was able to go fast. They were hexagonal structures that were all built with the ability to replicate mites, after which the mites would fuse into new cells to fill in the spots around them. The new cells were identical except for the ability to produce mites. Once the framework was done to a certain point, the First moved Jupiter there. Europa, Io, Ganymede, Callisto, and the rest of the Jovian moons were placed in orbit around the planet again, but at an orbit somewhat slower than before, and consequently higher from the surface.

The First had worked on his matter collector by creating a special line of mites with Dr. Donovan, and once it was finished, it was turned loose on the Jovian moons. It was a tube several kilometers long and made from neutronium. It tapered to a point at the tail end. The business end had an opening large enough to swallow an object the size of Atlantis. It was designed to break apart a planet with an antiproton beam, then take the debris into its maw. It would break down approximately twenty percent of the debris for its own fuel, and transport the other eighty percent to the construction site. Because it was made of neutronium, it could tractor material out of a star, and transport it as well.

The final act that the First did, which could only be accomplished by a Q, was to ignite Jupiter. He placed a stargate of a design by the Ancient, Orlin into the system's star and in Jupiter. Because of the power from both of the stars, the gate remained open and replenished the fuel of what had been Jupiter.

Finally, it was time to say goodbye to Earth. The last person to leave the planet's surface was Daniel Jackson. He looked around the control room, which was one of the last structures on the now almost completely dead world. As he gazed out the observation window at the dead landscape surrounding the gate room, there were tears in his eyes. This world wasn't Earth: it was a stranger. There was little resemblance to the Earth he had served for the last twelve years as Chancellor. He sighed as he walked to the circular control panel in the middle of the room. He touched the controls and a gateway opened up. Next, he touched another control which armed the virus drones. They were designed to infect any computer system with a virus which would rewrite the operating system of any computer on board a ship circling the planet. As well, anyone trying to override the controls would be attacked in the most efficient manner that the computer could detect.

Daniel Jackson, Earth's High Chancellor, stepped through the gate and was gone.

Year Two…

Daniel emerged on board Avalon which was orbiting Earth, and stepped up to the Commander's chair. Looking at the Commander's face, Daniel was surprised to see tears there as well, but as he thought about the last few years, it did make sense. The Commander had a strong sense of right and wrong, and when people were treated unjustly, he had to try to correct the problem. "I'm ready, Sir," Jackson said. The Commander simply nodded.

In the spaceport of Avalon, the orbiting satellites of Earth had been stowed. They were going to be taken to Kolowna and Chulak to augment their systems.

"Best speed to Kolowna," the Commander said, his voice breaking slightly. Avalon pivoted on its axis and they saw a hyperspace window open, then what had once been a beautiful, living blue planet was alone. Scorched. Brown. Dead.

Once the satellites were placed in orbit around Chulak, Avalon travelled to where the dyson sphere was being built. As enormous as the Ancient ship was, it was dwarfed by the sphere. It looked rather like a toy top hanging in space beside the partially completed structure.

The Commander and Merlin called the O'Neills and the Carters into the briefing room once station keeping had been set. Seated at the table already, were Daniel, Vala, Jade O'Neill, Janus, Janet Fraser and Teal'c. "It is my understanding," Merlin began, "that you, General O'Neill, were wondering how you could possibly be Q."

"Yeah," O'Neill said. "I understand that Sam and Jack are Q because they're your grandchildren." He looked at the others. "But I'm wondering how come I seem to be one! What's up with that?"

"Would you rather not be Q?" Merlin asked, a small smile playing across his lips.

"No!" O'Neill said quickly. "That's not what I mean at all. I just want to know why I am one. Do I have some long lost relative who's a Q, like Sam does? That's all I wanna know."

"We know that Daniel Jackson is Q," Teal'c said, "But how and why? I also seem to be displaying some powers that a Jaffa normally does not have. I am also curious as to the reason for thisl."

"I'm very curious about my husband and the rest of SG-1," Sam said agreeing with the others, "but what about Janet? There's always been a special bond between us. We've been best friends for so long. I went to Colorado Springs to help her, and found that she hardly needed my help. She was Q."

"Very well," Merlin said. "I'll explain it to you."

"Really?" O'Neill really liked Merlin, but there were times when he got completely frustrated because of the old Wizard's reluctance to give out information. "The last time you said that, you explained what you could, which frankly, wasn't very much." Samantha didn't say anything, but the look she was giving Merlin said that she agreed.

Merlin sighed. "I understand, but this time I will explain all." He looked at Janus and Janet. Both of them nodded agreement, and he began.

"You know that Janus is one of my sons. He was born as Janus, but rebelled as many children do. Both my son and daughter rebelled, as a matter of fact." He saw realization on Sam's face as she glanced at Janet.

"You're our mother, aren't you?" she said in a small voice. "That's why I've always felt so close to you!"

"That's right, Sam."

"But you can't possibly be. You were born before Mom died."

Janet nodded. "As long as a Q doesn't cross their own timeline, there is no problem with two versions of a Q being in a given time. But there was never any danger of that. Janet Fraser came into being after Debra Carter died. With a little judicious tampering with one or two people's memories, they were made to remember Janet from birth." She gazed at her son and daughter. "I remembered who I was when the attack came on Colorado Springs. I'm sorry I couldn't remember that you were my children before that. Since then, you have no idea how much I wanted to hold both of you in my arms and tell you how much I love you.

"The lesson we had to learn was a hard one. Because Janus and I were both born Q, and have known since childhood what that meant, we were… problem children, I guess is the best word for it."

"The Q have actually made a few laws in the hopes of preventing what happened with us, happening to others," Janus said, smiling. "Sam and Jack; you are second generation 'born Q' Jade is third generation. The law applies to all of you."

"I don't follow you," Sam said.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Carter asked no one in particular.

"Let us back up a little bit, shall we?" Merlin said. "I told you that I would explain all, and this is, quite probably, the best time for it.

"I actually met Janus long before he was born. He had decided that because of the strength of my power, he would visit me before I was Q. This was really, the only time he could make life difficult for his father without fear of extreme consequences. At the time, I was the commander of a very powerful vessel, and Janus liked to show me just how weak humanity, with all its scientific knowledge, really was.

"Janet had appeared in my life early as well, but rather than tormenting me, she showed herself as a friend. Her real name is Meribor, but she did not use that. She made sure that there was no way I would recognize her, but the sibling rivalry between the two of them persisted. I distinctly remember her putting a fork through Janus' hand at one point."

"Sounds like something I would love to do to Nathan," Carter commented.

"He had it coming," Janet said.

"Where's your hippocratic oath," Jackson asked.

"I was a bartender then, not a doctor, and besides; I had a reputation to maintain," she answered.

"So if you weren't born one, how did you become a Q?" Sam asked Merlin, always looking for answers.

"I was drug into what we called at the time, a Nexus, which we discovered later, was simply a doorway into the continuum. At the time, I did not realize the extent of my powers, nor did the Commander who had arrived some time before I did. We knew we could leave and go to any place in time that we wished from within it. We did not know that we now possessed the ability to harness the power of the continuum with our wills. We simply left at a point in time where we could make a difference."

"From that time on," the Commander said, "we were Q. However, my son, who has now been abducted by the Doci, was born before that, so he possesses none of the ability. What you need to know, is that Q Law states that a born Q, no matter the generation, must grow up unaware of their status. The law also states, and this applies to all of you, no matter if you were born Q or not, that a newly aware Q, must be trained in using their abilities as soon as possible."

"You said this applies to all of us," Vala said. "As far as I know, I'm not Q."

"No, Vala. You're not," Merlin acknowledged. "And, Commander. I've already trained Daniel Jackson."

"Right, and while I don't think Daniel needs further training, as you're a great teacher, Merlin, I thought maybe he'd like to be with his friends for the duration of their training."

Merlin nodded. "Excellent idea."

"Could someone please get back to the story of how me, and Teal'c, and Daniel are Q?" O'Neill asked impatiently.

The Commander laughed. "Another law from long ago is that no Q may make another person a Q. This has been done in the past with not so great results. That is how Riker is a Q. He is the first Q to receive the powers as an intentional gift, but he rejected them. The Q who gave the powers supposedly removed them. In reality, the powers were hidden from his consciousness for many years, but once a person is Q, that can't be undone. When Riker 'died' at the end of his human life, he recoiled to the continuum. Merlin and I met him there and explained what had happened."

"It wasn't as bad as you're suggesting," Janus said rolling his eyes.

"Am I to understand that you are the one who gifted the powers to Riker, Janus?" Teal'c asked.

"Well," Janus said. "At the time, making his second in command like me, seemed a good way to torment my father."

"Riker was your first officer?" O'Neill asked Merlin, surprised.

"And a very efficient one," Merlin answered. "By the time he died, he was very high in our 'Starfleet'. He was not aware of my status, although I had known of his for many years. I, of course, knew my own status by that time. My wife was the second, and the last, Q to receive the powers as an intentional gift." Merlin got a faraway look in his eyes. "You see, I had loved her for many years, but had never married her. Then she became injured, and was on the verge of death. I couldn't bear to lose her, so I made her Q. While the other Q understood my motives, my actions weren't popular. Making a doctor a Q seemed dangerous to them. Such a person might be tempted to use the power in ways that could have global changes in the universe."

Merlin looked at Vala with compassion. "I would like to recommend something to you, my dear. Mr. Scott and Mr. LaForge have a machine on this station that will ascend a human. That is what Deanna, Riker's wife, did. She is an Ascended Alteran, which means she is just as long lived as a Q. She has been with Riker since they married, long before he knew he was Q.

"What's the problem with someone being made a Q by another Q?" O'Neill asked.

"Wisdom," the Commander said.

"It's not that you don't have wisdom, Jack," Merlin said quickly, "but the indiscriminate use of the powers of the Q can lead to dire consequences. You know how we have had to be so careful in this war. The Doci must die at the right time. We could end things right now, but the universe as we know it would literally unravel."

"So a 'made Q' would be too tempted, and probably not know any better."

"Even if, as you call them, a 'made Q' does know better, he may not realize the gravity of the situation," Merlin clarified.

"It seems to me that we have established that we are 'made Q', but how?" Teal'c was getting impatient.

"A Q's power can be accessed through strong feeling," Janus explained to all of them. "Obviously, Samantha has strong feelings for each of you. You were in a dangerous position in SG-1, and there was a particular time when you were about to die on a ha'tak. You were testing some arm bands for the Tok'ra, if I'm not mistaken. You were all going to die, and at that moment, Sam's powers were accessed without her knowing what she was doing. She saved your lives by making you Q. Teal'c wasn't in as much danger then, but later, he was trapped in a wormhole and Sam made him Q at that time."

"Why not Vala?" Daniel asked.

"By the time Vala joined the SGC, Sam's emotions were more under control, and she wasn't indiscriminately turning people into Q," Janus explained with a smile. "Neither Vala, nor Cameron Mitchell are Q."

"So is Sam in trouble for making SG-1 Q?" Carter wanted to know. He was concerned for his sister because it seemed that the laws of the Q were quite harsh. He didn't want her to be fobbed.

"We recognize that this type of thing can happen, and are prepared for it," Merlin answered. "However, even though you are Terran, you are still Q, and as such, are subject to the laws of the Q."

"You see," Carter said, "that's what I'm, uh, worried about," he finished lamely.

Merlin rescued him. "There's nothing to worry about. When an unknowing Q turns someone Q, we don't punish them. We understand that they couldn't help it." Jack finally exhaled, as did Sam. She had been worried too. "What the Commander is referring to," Merlin went on, "is the fact that the four of you need to be trained. You are now aware of your powers, and you need to know how to use them."

"So what?" O'Neill asked, sarcastically. "We become your Padawans and learn the mystic ways of the force?"

"I think that would be mystic ways of the Q," Carter corrected.

"Right," O'Neill said. "Mystic ways of the Q."

"Something like that," The Commander said. "Actually, Merlin will train Sam and Janus will train Jack Carter, while I'll train you. The First was planning on training Teal'c."

"We don't have time for this," O'Neill said, frustrated.

"Sure we do," the Commander said lightly. "We can take all the time that we want, and be back in time for breakfast."

"Jack," Sam said, placing her hand on O'Neill's arm. "He's right. I saw what I could do without even realizing how I was doing it in Colorado Springs. If all of us are capable of doing as much as the First…. Moving Jupiter and igniting it into a star! We need to know how to control it."

"You blew up a star once," he countered.

"Not with my mind alone," she countered him.

O'Neill thought for a moment, then said, "Good point." He turned back to the Commander. "How come you're separating me and Sam?"

"We thought it would minimize distractions."

"Like being trained by Nathan Stark won't be a distraction for me!" Carter said loudly.

In response, Janus,who had disappeared for some reason, reappeared. "I heard that, Jack. I won't be a distraction, I promise."

Allison glared at Janus. "Would you stop it, both of you? Jack, try not to think of him as Nathan, and Janus," Janus turned beaming to Allison. "Quit acting like a jerk to him."

Janus looked downcast as he said, "Very well. I'll stop." He glanced at his father and said, "I will definitely stop."

"I would say that you've made a good choice, Janus," Merlin agreed. He looked around the group. "Shall we begin?"

He stood up, followed by Daniel Jackson. "I'm curious," Jackson asked. "Have you always gone by the name of Merlin?"

"No," Merlin answered. "My name was originally 'Jean Luc.'"

"That sounds French," Jackson commented.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, it is. My last name was Picard."

"So, Merlin was French?"

At the Dyson Sphere…

By the end of the second year, the shell was nine hundredths of a percent complete. The solar collectors were gathering enough power to completely run three city ships. The cities, Othala, Los Angeles, Chicago, Tokyo and Atlantis were now docked in the shell. While the solar collectors were generating enough power to run three of them, the power wasn't being used for that. Instead, the power was running back into the repair systems. Even with such a small amount of the shell complete, its own repair facilities were able to take on the task of completing the construction. In this way, inspection of the repair systems was able to be conducted as well. As the shell neared completion, it's construction would accelerate, as more and more resources would be able to be utilized.

The wraith hives had been modified substantially. The very latest MK9 Naquadah reactors had been fitted into their centers. The reactor housings held shield generators and powerful weapons systems. Reverse engineering a hive had proved to be a daunting challenge, but in one of the many construction cells being built into the sphere, a technological version of the hive ships was being built. It was a battleship, two thousand meters long, but unlike the Terran battleships of old, it was not designed to use large guns to destroy an Ori ship. Instead, it would use a thousand cuts to destroy one.

They were armed with three hundred pulse phaser turrets, quantum and photon torpedos, and city ship level shields. They also contained full air wings of Iconian Starfighters. The Iconians built twelve of the tech hives, but those twelve would be enough to hold back the line of Ori advances, giving the Iconians time to complete the sphere.

Year Three…

By the end of the third year, it was time to say goodbye to two more old friends. The shell was seventeen percent complete, and the construction speed was accelerating exponentially, therefore the populations of Chulak and Kolowna had been moved to the sphere. Over the last two years, all the Naquadria they could mine was removed from Kolowna, and stored in the habitat.

Even though to the Ori, it would have appeared that the Iconians were gambling everything on the sphere, that was not the case. The Q had taken their apprentices to a planet on the other side of the universe from the Avalon galaxy for their training, and while there, they had transported Todd's culling buffers to the site as well. These were set to release the people in them if something were to happen to the people back home. Otherwise, they would be picked up at a later date by the newly launched Destiny.

The sphere had several different types of cells that were arranged in patterns of fifty. The first cell of each pattern was designed as a sphere repair cell. This cell built nanites, and had power generators along with solar collection cells focused both on Jupiter and the system's sun, or whatever other bright stars were available. When focused on distant stars, there would be very little benefit from them, but at least they were doing something.

Teal'c had been given a chore, which he was very much looking forward to completing. He and Vala were to travel to Adria's ship. Once there, they were to confront her. Since Teal'c was Q, there was absolutely no danger to him, or to Vala. In fact, the danger was entirely to Adria from this encounter.

When they arrived, Adria was alone in her quarters. While she looked mature, she was still only a teenager, chronologically. She had been sleeping, but immediately was awake and on her guard when she sensed her mother in the room. She sat up and glared. "Why are you here, Mother? You know that I will have to…." She faltered. Somehow, she sensed that Vala was ascended now.

"You're going to try to kill me, Adria?" Vala felt like crying at the way her daughter had been corrupted, but she put on a brave face. "Your Uncle Muscles will keep you from harming me. I'm ascended as you are no doubt aware, but I have no illusions that my power is greater than yours."

"Even 'Uncle Muscles,' as you call him, can't stop me from killing you, Mother." She tried to get a sense of Teal'c, but couldn't. She turned a quizzical gaze onto him and tried to probe deeper. All she found, however, was a featureless wall erected all around him.

"I can feel you trying to get through my defenses, Adria. You will not. You powers not a match for mine. What you are unaware of, is that you are of little consequence to this war, and can be removed with no discernable effects to the timeline. Therefore, I am taking you out of the equation."

Adria's eyes grew wide as she discerned that he was, indeed, telling the truth about his power. Suddenly, she began to grow smaller, as he reduced her apparent age to that of a two month old infant. He left her knowledge intact for a few moments, while removing any power that being an ascended being gave her. Vala stepped over and picked up Adria. She held her in her arms and smiled. "Now, you will age as you should have, with Daniel and myself as your parents. You will know the love of growing up with a family instead of being raised by beings who would use you to increase their own power."

Once Vala said this, Teal'c removed Adria's memories permanently. He now held the sleeping infant, while Vala sat down at Adria's computer terminal. She fed a virus into the computers which would block the Ori sensors from seeing any activity from the part of the galaxy where the shell was being built. In fact, the virus was so complete, that the Ori computers would simply remove any readings of the dyson sphere. The Ori ships could pass within a hundred miles of the sphere, and unless someone was to look out a window, they would never know it was there. The only reason they couldn't get closer was because the human body would begin to feel palpable gravitational effects. The effect of the sphere's gravity on the ship was silently removed by the virus. If a ship were to travel too close it wouldn't do for the immense gravity to have everyone on it standing on the walls or ceilings.

Before they left, Vala, looking and sounding like Adria, ordered the fleet to halt their advance and await further orders. After that, the room was empty.

Year Four…

By the end of the fourth yerar, the sphere was fifty percent complete, and Altair had moved all of its shipyards into the shell. The Terran and Wraith ships had placed mines and defense satellites in orbit of both the shell and the rest of the solar system in which it was being constructed. The Asgard and Alteran ships were helping in the construction using matter to energy converters.

Year Five…

At the end of the fifth year, the shell was finished. During the final days of construction, three Ori scout ships were passing through the system, unaware of the sphere's existence. The defense grid picked them up on approach. As the vessels got closer, the mines began to gain power, drawing it directly from them, until they were passing right on top of the system. At that point, the mines, drawing full power, were not leaving enough for the Ori to remain in hyperspace. The internal lights blinked once, then went off. Now, because of the low output of the reactors, the mines were operating at low power. When the Ori tried to power their engines back up, the mines in proximity glowed menacingly. Had the engineers not tried to move the ships, the mines would not have affected the people on board. However, with the extra power being supplied by the engines, the mines were operating at a high enough level to draw energy from organic sources and they began to drain the life from the crews. One of the ships managed to get a message out to the rest of the Ori fleet on a tightly focused, low energy, radio signal. Unfortunately the radio operator had no idea what was going on, and even if he did, he wouldn't have known how to stop it. He only knew that their ship had dropped out of hyperspace and now everyone on board was dying.


	23. Chapter 23

On board the Ori flagship, there had been general confusion when Adria disappeared. She had been gone for over a year, and no one knew, even now, where she had gone. The Doci was furious with her, but her being gone did accelerate his plans. There were still three Ori alive, but he could deal with them when he needed to.

Now, the Doci was stalking to the bridge of his flagship. He had been in command without Adria for over a year. He was wise enough to know that he needed to tell the crew something about Adria, and to that end, he had said she was off on a quest. What the quest was, was not for him to know or for any followers of Origin to know. They accepted his words because they feared him.

He had received a message from three scout vessels that had been trying to find the location to which the Iconians had disappeared. He knew that they were still around. He knew that the Commander wouldn't give up on his son, but where were they?

The message had said that the scout vessels had dropped out of hyperspace and that the people on board were all dying. He could think of no natural reason for this, so he considered it a place to start.

He ordered his ship to change course. "Where are you, Kirk?" he thought to himself. "You are hiding. Afraid to face your better. Come out and see your destiny!" He thought of the first time he had seen Kirk, staring out a window at him. The Doci wasn't a follower of Origin then. He was trying to save his people, those who had pledged to live and die at his command two hundred years before Kirk was born. Of course, strictly speaking, he wasn't a follower of Origin even now. He believed that the Ori had power, and they supplied him with supernatural abilities, but he did not believe they were gods. If their power allowed him to have his revenge on the Commander, so be it.

As the mammoth Ori vessel was heading at an incredible velocity to where its three sister ships had been destroyed, an alarm sounded. He saw it, and almost forgot to breathe. He had stopped hoping that this would be found. It was a ribbon of energy in space, a doorway to somewhere. In his own time, he had tried to find out more about this ribbon, but he had been unable to approach it because of Kirk's forces. He had been deliberately kept away from it. He ordered all stop, and went to his quarters. He turned off the stasis field in the room adjoining his and went in.

"What is so special about the energy ribbon," he asked Kirk's son, David Marcus.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Marcus answered.

The Doci reached through the cage and grabbed the other man by the throat. He drew him close and hissed at him, "Don't play games with me. I could crush your neck right now in my bare hand. Don't try my patience, David!" He almost spat the name.

"I'm not playing games. I don't know about any energy ribbon." Marcus was calm. He was displaying absolutely no fear.

The Doci squeezed a bit harder, and David's face started to turn red, but there was still no fear. Finally, he threw him against the far wall of the cage, and David lay still on the floor, gasping. His tormentor strode from the room and back to his bridge. For the next several hours, his people scanned the ribbon and sent probes into it. Each time a probe would enter it would break up in the turbulence.

The Doci knew that this was not the reason Kirk had kept him away from it. There was much more. He had been genetically engineered to be a leader by scientists trying to improve humanity through selective breeding. They had tried to engineer strength and intelligence into the race, but what they actually accomplished was to create superhumans who had as much ambition and ruthlessness as they did the other, more desirable traits. The Doci had been the most successful of the augmented humans. His name was Khan Noonien Singh, and at the pinnacle of his life, he had ruled a quarter of Earth. He had not been benevolent, but his rule was marked by the absence of the massacres and internal wars of some of his contemporaries.

Khan watched the readings on the sensors from his command chair. He wanted action, but he forced himself to be patient. After a few hours, one of his scientists pointed out that the ribbon was intersecting the orbit of a planet, and that they might be able to find out more from the ground. Whatever was so special about this thing, Khan did not want anyone else to find it. He ordered his personal shuttle readied.

Thankfully, the planet he landed on would support life, although marginally. He waited in his shuttle staring out at a sandstorm on this desert planet's surface. He would wait until the last moment to exit the shuttle. Everything he had seen from the ship said that the shuttle would need to be powered down when the ribbon hit. He saw the light begin to change outside, then he stepped through the manual hatch.

Outside, the sand and wind tore at his robes. He had to shield his eyes from grit. Then, the ribbon hit. Suddenly, he was no longer on this dead world. He was in Botany Bay,looking at his friend, Juaquin, in his support pod. As he watched, the gauges started to raise. He looked around and saw that all of his people were waking up. He was thrilled! He glanced at another monitor and saw that the ship was approaching a planet. He walked through the door onto the bridge and stepped out onto a balcony. He was now looking down on a crowd of people. There were thousands, chanting his name and looking to him for leadership.

He turned around and saw a woman with red hair spilling over her shoulders, smiling at him. 'Marla', the name came unbidden to his mind, yet he knew it was her. Knew it was his wife. He loved her with all his heart, more than his own life.

Something in his mind was nagging at him, saying this wasn't the way things had turned out. Marla was dead, yet he had never met her and she was his wife. His mind was confused, a state he had almost never experienced. She reached out for him and drew him close, kissing him. He started to pull back, but then went with it, his mind even more confused. He loved her, but didn't know her. What was going on?

Then, everything was gone and he was standing in white. There were no features anywhere around him. No walls, no ceiling, not even any floor. Just a featureless white. He wasn't sure how long he stood there. Finally, he saw a man approaching him.

Even as he thought, "Who is this?" his mind said, "Soran."

He started to form another question, "What are you doing here?" but the thought, "I exist here in this unreality," flooded his mind as he thought it.

"Do you answer all my questions as I think of them?" was thought concurrently with "It certainly appears that way, doesn't it?"

He was angered by the insolent tone of the thought, but the laughing tone came back, "Deal with it."

He was furious, and his hand reached out to grab the laughing man, but he grasped only air. The man was now ten feet behind him, laughing even more.

"You foolish man. You think you can hurt me?" The laughter was becoming intolerable for Khan. He swung around and charged the laughing Soran. Just as before, Soran was now behind the enraged Khan. Soran stopped laughing and turned coldly serious. "You can never hurt me, Khan. You could imagine snapping my neck like a twig, but you could never hurt the real me. You can even imagine killing Kirk over and over again. But you'll never do it. Because he's not here. He's out there in reality. What you would find here is unreal. It's not worth anything!" The last was shouted, as if someone was tearing Soran's heart out of his body. "You can dream anything here. You can't have any of it. Nothing you can ever do here matters!"

"Did Kirk enter here?" Khan asked quietly.

"Of course he entered here. How do you think he's so powerful?"

"Then it is possible to exit."

"Of course it is."

"Then I can kill Kirk in reality."

Soran looked at Khan as if he were a small child, which infuriated the superman. "You think you can kill Kirk in reality? You are so foolish."

"Why wouldn't I be able to kill him?"

Soran didn't answer. Instead he turned and started walking away.

"Why can't I kill him?" This was a yell, but Soran started laughing.

"WHY!?"

Finally, something other than laughter, but just as maddening. "Because!"

Khan reappeared sitting in the shuttle. He reached over and turned on the generator. It was shielded and as a result, was not hurt when it was powered down. It started, and he looked at the screen. It showed a sandstorm, still. He remembered something which wasn't part of his own memory, but it was. "Ceti Alpha V" the thought came. What? Ceti Eel? What were these memories? He was even more confused now. He touched the thruster control and the shuttle lifted off the surface. It shuttered as the winds caught it, and he applied more power.

Very quickly, he was out of the atmosphere, and back in empty space. The Ori mothership was in front of him, and he sailed into the hanger.

As he stalked back to his quarters, he was furious. At Soran, and Kirk, and the Ori, and the universe in general. The door to his quarters slid open, and he saw the red light even before it registered what it was. There were only three Ori besides Adria that had survived the Sangraal. Two of them were now in his quarters. They manifested as flames with a human head attached. He stopped as the door slid closed, and stared at them.

"What do you want?"

"Why have you stopped here? We gave you no authorization to stop." The sound echoed throughout the room. It hit his ears with the pressure of a thousand feet of ocean, and he felt like his head would be ripped from his body. He showed no fear to them, but he was afraid.

"I had business on this planet."

"A barely breathable atmosphere and you have business there? Do you take us for fools?"

Khan shrank back for an instant, but quickly recovered. He actually stepped forward and before he could think better of it, he hissed, "Never bother me on my ship again! In fact, never bother me again at all!"

The Ori broke into a thousand rapidly shrinking pieces, and fell to the floor as a disintegrating ash. In a moment, they were gone, dead.

Khan's eyes grew wide. He had known that the Ori were not omnipotent, but how had he destroyed them? Was it his lack of reverence? Had it so weakened them that they were powerless against him? That was ridiculous. He knew that couldn't be the case because someone following Origin would have destroyed an Ori that way before him. It simply stood to reason.

Somehow, he had powers now that could destroy an Ori. So much the better. Kirk would die as well. He smiled to himself as he contemplated it.

He had just one more thing to do before going after Kirk. He searched with his mind for the one remaining Ori, and when he found him, he killed him, slowly and methodically.

At the Sphere…

On the bridge of Avalon, the Commander, James T. Kirk, sat brooding. He knew that Khan was on his way. He knew that Khan was now Q, and that he had destroyed the last three Ori. He was worried, however. Worried about David.

Having his son the prisoner of a deranged superman was one thing. A deranged Q, however, was something altogether more frightening. He reached out with his mind and touched his son. David was there, still alive, but in pain. Khan had injured him in some way. Kirk relocated himself to the younger man's side. David saw him and smiled. "Hi. Sorry I'm not exactly presentable, Dad." His voice was raspy and it was difficult for him to talk.

Kirk shielded them both from Khan, and saw to it that the superman wouldn't think of entering the room. "That's ok, David." He sat down on the floor beside his son. He touched the younger man's neck and the bruising disappeared.

"Thanks," David said, "that feels much better."

"You're welcome." Kirk sighed. "I wish I could take you out of here, Son."

"I understand," he said, then laughed, "You're spending time with me anyway. That's appreciated."

Whenever David had been let out of stasis to feel his confinement, Kirk had appeared and shielded him from Khan. They had talked for hours, about anything they felt like. David's mother, Carol, was one of their main topics. Kirk also filled him in on the rest of the family: Picard and his children and their families. It amused David that his great grandchild was such a dignified Frenchman. What was even more amusing was that he was Merlin, the Wizard of mythology. Growing up, David had read the Arthurian legend in school, and to find that he was an ancestor of a mythological figure was incredible. Of course, with a Q as his father, and other Q as family members, anything was possible. He laughed out loud.

"What's so funny?" Kirk asked.

"I'm just thinking about how strange my family is. My father is the Commander of Starfleet, and a Q, and my grandson is a French guy who happens to be Merlin, wizard to the English King Arthur. It's a strange universe."

Kirk chuckled, "Yes, it is." He frowned. "David, has Khan said anything of his plans?"

"No. All he's done is tried to intimidate and scare me. I haven't let him see any fear."

Kirk nodded. "Yeah. You're making him reckless. He's mad, and he's showing it."

"Good."

They talked a bit more, then Kirk said he needed to leave. "I've got to prepare for Khan. I'll see you soon, Son. This is about over."

David hugged his father, then watched as he flashed out of sight. He sat down, and cried. He knew that his father would not let Khan think about him until he was ready to face the superman again. He was grateful.

At the Sphere again…

The Ori fleet dropped out of hyperspace before it entered the system. It scanned the mines throughout the system, and Khan willed them away. They obediently disappeared, as did the satellites. Now, nothing stood between the Ori fleet and the sphere, except the Iconian fleet.

The Ori vessels slid into orbit of the sphere and opened fire on it. The massive doors of the hanger decks on the sphere started opening, and wave after wave of fighters engaged the Ori. From another opening in the sphere, the Wraith Hives and the technological hives of the Iconians emerged. They started hammering away at the Ori vessels.

Khan smiled as he stood. He had willed the mines and satellites away. He would simply will these insignificant Iconian ships into oblivion as well. He spread his arms wide. "My followers. Watch." He threw back his head in a grand gesture, and disappeared.

It was not what he had intended to do, and it had the effect of leaving his people leaderless. He looked around and found himself standing on the surface of what had once been Jupiter.

Surface, however, was a misnomer. Below his feet was a writhing, seething mass of plasma. It was not a surface, really, because one could fall through the endless miles of superheated gases with ease. Beside him, David Marcus was standing, and not more than 20 feet from him was Kirk.

"Kirk? What are you doing? I didn't wish to be here!"

"No, Khan. I really didn't think you did. But I wished you to be, so here you are," Kirk said easily.

Khan's eyes grew wide as he tried to flash away and couldn't. He waved his arms, and still nothing happened. Still more frantic waves yielded nothing.

"You can't leave, Khan. Once again, we've tried it your way, but now it's time for a rematch," Kirk taunted. All around him, Q were appearing, the flashes of their arrival somehow making the glare from the sun they were standing on seem like a single candle. "You seem to think you're powerful, because you killed three Ori. With a single thought, any of the Q here could have accomplished the same thing. You're nothing special, Khan. Even now." Khan looked at the group of Q surrounding him. The First, Kirk, Picard, Jack and Samantha O'Neill, Jack Carter, Eric Marten, Teal'c, Daniel Jackson, and Janus.

"I wiped out your defensive net with a single thought!" Khan said, determined to impress them.

"Yeah," Jack O'Neill said. "I just put it back."

Khan's eyes bulged as he checked and saw that, indeed, the mines and satellites were back in place.

Jack Carter stepped forward and placed himself directly in front of Khan. "You see, Khan. The sad fact is, you think you're powerful, but you have just become Q. The newest Q here… Jade is it?" He looked at O'Neill who nodded in the affirmative. "The newest Q in our force, Jade, has spent over eighty years in training to learn how to control her power. You acquired your power less than two days ago. You really think you are superior?" He laughed. "You're crazy!"

Carter stepped back beside his sister and Eric Marten stepped forward. "You were genetically designed to be a superior human. With the Nox virus, all humans are superior now. Very few have five times the strength of an unaugmented human as you do, but those who train physically, do. You are no longer special, Khan. Except that in you, superior strength has bred superior ego. You will continue to kill in your vendetta against James Kirk, and I cannot allow you to do that. You are like a rabid dog that must be put down to stop its killing."

Kirk held up his hand. "You others, stand back. I'll deal with him myself." The two of them squared off, with Kirk continuing to taunt Khan. "You're so predictable, Khan. I was able to arrange this entire war to get you to the here and now." He laughed. "So predictable." Khan charged at Kirk, only to disappear right before he contacted, and reappear on the other side of Kirk. It was like the space where Kirk was standing didn't exist. Khan threw a punch at him, and his fist disappeared only to reappear in the space on the other side of Kirk's jaw. Kirk laughed. "You'll never learn, Khan." He threw a punch, and his fist found its mark. Khan's body flew through the 'air' and landed what must have been a mile away, raising a solar flare in the process. He stood and lunged at Kirk, covering the mile in a second, and flying through where Kirk stood still laughing. Khan stood, humiliated. He started another charge then stopped, his intelligence taking hold.

"Why bother?" he asked. "You will just allow me to pass through again, and I'll end up looking the fool. There is little to be gained by such a fight." He waved his hand nonchalantly as he spoke, seeming, for all the world, to have gained some semblance of sanity again.

The reality, however, was that he knew he was going to die, but he was determined to do it in his way. There was only one way for him to die, and still win. He looked closely at Kirk, saw how he looked old and young at the same time. He marvelled at the fact that Kirk wielded so much power. "Congratulations, Kirk," he said sarcastically, "you have become me." He suddenly turned and grabbed David Marcus. "While I have become DEATH!" He hoped that his intentions were not being read by Kirk in this, and indeed, they were not. Khan held Marcus close to his body, enveloping him with his arms, and imploded, taking David with him.

Outside the sphere, things began to happen. Khan was a Q, and he had died in two places in history. That was not even supposed to be possible! But what was supposedly impossible, was happening, albeit with cataclysmic results. The Iconian fleet disappeared completely from the battle. They were not destroyed, but simply disappeared. At least, that was what happened from the point of view of the Ori fleet. In reality, Jupiter was somehow relocated to it's original place around Sol. It remained a star, but it became the secondary star in a binary grouping.

Next, five Earths converged on the place of the Earth of that solar system. They were each native to a different reality, but the line between realities was breaking down, as if something with Khan's death was not right. Somehow, the planets passed through each other as they solidified, without damage, but once they were solid, damage was done. The earth native to the reality passed close to the sphere as it left the solar system. It crashed through the Ori fleet, crushing them against it's surface. It raced out of the system at an incredible velocity until it was caught by another star, and pulled into orbit there.

On the other Earths, time had slowed to a crawl, and the populations were unaware of what was happening except for a change in star patterns. On one of them, a war was waging between the Communists and the Capitalists. The battle had left the landmasses unrecognizable and rather barren. On another, a battle was being fought between the Eastern Coalition and the United States. On still another, scientists in the United States were trying to increase the lifespan of man but succeeded only partially. The result from their experiments was that children aged incredibly slowly, but when they passed puberty, they started aging rapidly and died insane. The last of the planets was from a reality where the Romans had remained a major power into the twentieth century.

Elsewhere, the same five realities were converging in other ways on the reality of the Iconians. Other planets were appearing and in some cases, disappearing. Not only were realities converging, but time was bending as well. Time had slowed on the other Earths, but it completely distorted for the Iconian fleet. They had been in the present, but then time fractured. Some of the ships were sent into the future. Destiny was flung into the far past, as it was on it's way to pick up the stasis chambers on the other side of the universe. While the majority of the ships ended up at relatively the same time, some weren't so lucky.

On the surface of Jupiter, Kirk was still staring at where his son had disappeared with Khan. He was shaking violently, and tears were flowing down his face. He had intended for his taunts to cause Khan to make himself look ridiculous. Instead, they had driven him to do what Kirk had thought impossible. Khan had seen no way out, and had ended things himself. Dying at this point in time was a necessity, even though it was not logically possible. All of the continuum had known what would happen with realities converging, but they knew that it must be this way. Kirk's earth was not native to this reality. Nor, for that matter, was the First's home, Vulcan. Yet, all must converge into one. That was a necessity as that was the reality that they came from.

But Kirk had miscalculated, and it had cost him his son. He allowed himself to be caught up with his ego, just as he had known Khan would. He could have allowed Khan some hope, and it might have saved David.

Since David's death had been so intimately entwined in the death of a Q, there was no way to save him. His life ended there, and that was, simply that. Going back to visit him in the past would not be possible either, as the time surrounding Khan's death was now fractured. This would be an event no one, not even a Q, would be able to approach in time. Living through it was the best they could hope for, and even that was problematic. Kirk's and Picard's training as commanders took hold at the same moment.

"Let's get out of here!" Kirk shouted.

"Agreed!" Picard said as he and the First wrapped their minds around the rest. They were the most disciplined and oldest of the group, thus their power was the greatest. But even for them, pulling the rest from the twisting reality centered where Khan had stood was difficult. They could not simply flash out, as that required a destination in reality, and with reality changing, it was impossible to focus on one point.

"Anywhere!" the First shouted to Picard, and rather than a destination, they simply focused on being gone from their present location. It was exhausting, and the effort left them feeling as if they had run a marathon without training, but they eventually succeeded. All were safe.

From a safe distance, they watched as the Dyson Sphere exploded into a supernova, which immediately de-aged into a gas giant, and back into a star, this time with the added mass from the sphere and the primary star. Carter was sick to think that SARAH had been destroyed, but he quickly realized that a section of seventy-one connected cells had survived, relatively unscathed. Each cell contained a complete computer core, so that any cell could be used to rebuild the entire structure. He nudged the section back into place in orbit of the star, and watched as SARAH took stock of her situation. The mites began their work in rebuilding the sphere, and in a few years, it would be complete.

The majority of the population of Iconia had been flung approximately three hundred millennia into the future as reality broke apart and reformed itself. The Q could see them, but their powers to move through time were hindered this close to the center of destruction. Reaching the continuum was impossible at present as well. They could draw power from it, but the route that the power took to them was untraversable.

There were ten of them, and they settled into the Dyson Sphere to wait until time was healed enough to allow them to move through in an accelerated fashion.

"Well," Jack O'Neill said as they all watched the universe convulse around them "what now?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N The Authors would like to thank all of our readers for taking the time out of their lives to read what the voices in our heads have told us to write. It has been a lot of fun and hope you have enjoyed the story. The next exciting installment of the Iconia Quartet will be posted after a short break, and will be posted in the Stargate SG1 / Star Trek 2009 section under the title, "The Rise of Iconia". Any questions that can be answered without leading to spoilers will be on the forum on fanfiction.net topic/140222/100500455/1/An-answer-to-reviews-on-The-Birth-of-Iconia


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